BELLEROSE, N.Y., April 24, 2018 – Emanuel Veras hit his first home run of the year, but the Monroe Express fell to the Borough of Manhattan Community College Panthers on Tuesday at Padavan-Preller Field, 15-5, a run-rule shortened six innings, dropping to 0-24 on the year.
 
BMCC built up an early 7-0 lead, scoring one in the bottom of the first and six in the bottom of the second, before the Express got going in the top of the third.
 
Devon Marrero's one-out triple gave the Express a runner in scoring position, before Edwin Santiago knocked in the first run of the game with an RBI single. After Jesus Hilario struck out, Veras launched his two-run dinger to deep center, scoring Santiago and cutting the deficit to four. Veras would be one of two Express players to tally multiple hits, finishing the day 2-for-3 with a home run, walk, two runs scored and two RBI.
 
And while BMCC got a run back in the bottom of the inning, the Express put another run on the board in the top of the third. With one out, Harold Valdez and Marrero laced back-to-back doubles to cut the Panthers' lead to 8-4. Marrero finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, triple, run scored and RBI.
 
The Panthers again extended their lead, this time scoring two in the bottom of the fourth, but again, the Express came back with a run in the top of the fifth. Veras led off the inning with a single, and after Raymond Pichardo followed with a single of his own, Bryan Guzman reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases for Jose Santiago.
 
Santiago singled to score a run, but the Express left the bases loaded, and headed to the bottom of the fifth, down 10-5.
 
And after BMCC responded with three in the bottom of the fifth, the Express couldn't answer in the top of the sixth, going in order against Stephen Crawford before the Panthers scored two more in the bottom of the frame to finish off a 15-5, run-rule victory over Monroe.
 
Kelvin Paulino (0-3) took the loss for the Express, while Crawford (1-3) picked up the win for BMCC.
 
The Express are back in action on Friday, April 27 when they take on the Borough of Manhattan Community College Panthers at 3:30 p.m. in New York, N.Y.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of Monroe's Bronx campus has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level beginning with their inaugural seasons in the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Express, please visit us at www.MonroeExpress.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Express), Twitter (@MonroeExpress) and Instagram (@MonroeExpress).