MEDFORD, N.Y., March 26, 2019 – Monroe Express baseball fell in a hard-fought Region XV matchup against the Suffolk County Community College Sharks on Tuesday at the Medford Athletic Complex, 12-7.
Miguel Reicino gave the Express an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with his solo home run over the left field fence, his first of the year.
However, the Sharks came right back with a three-run blast of their own off the bat of Christopher Amato to take a 3-1 lead.
The Express left two runners on in the top of the second, but
Edward Mata struck out two and worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the second to send Monroe back up to the plate in the third.
Reicino notched his second hit of the game, a one-out single, before
Bianyor Germosen and
Jesus Hilario loaded the bases with another single and a hit-by-pitch.
A.J. Torres knocked in a run with an RBI single to cut Suffolk's lead to one, before
Emanuel Veras tied the game with an RBI single of his own.
The Sharks though, struck for four runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead. Andrew Fenton doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before scoring on Jenfry Perez Castillo's RBI groundout to give Suffolk a 4-3 lead. Back-to-back singles by Amato and Jacob Ford put two on with two outs for the Sharks, before an error allowed three more runs to score in the inning, giving Suffolk a 7-3 lead.
Suffolk extended their lead once again in the bottom of the fourth.
Hafel Payano relieved Mata to start the inning, but a Corey Tingo's double and Fenton's walk put two one for Amato, who doubled to score Tingo and extend SUNY Suffolk's lead to 8-3. A batter later, Robert Rodriguez launched a three-run homer to left, extending the lead to 11-3.
Jesus Hilario cut into the Sharks' lead with a solo shot, his first of the year, in the top of the fifth, while Payano quieted the Suffolk bats' in the fifth and sixth.
In the top of the seventh, Monroe scratched out three more runs, cutting Suffolk's lead to just 11-7. After Reicino led off the inning with a walk,
Jesus Tejada blasted the Express' third home run of the day, a two-run shot to right, cutting the lead to 11-6.
A pair of singles from Hilario and Torres, as well as Veras' walk, loaded the bases for the Express, forcing the Sharks to make a call to the bullpen.
Michael Ramos reached on a fielding error to score a run, but Kenny Holleday picked off Ramos at first and struck out
Harold Valdez to end the Express rally, and keep Suffolk County up 11-7.
Kristopher Cheslock gave the Sharks an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh on his solo home run to left field, and Holleday and David Heller combined to shut the Express down the rest of the way to give Suffolk the 12-7 victory.
Mata (0-1) took the loss for the Express, who fall to 1-8 (0-1 Region XV), while Daniel Deckert (1-1) earned the win for Suffolk, who move to 6-4 (4-1 Region XV) with the win.
Six Express players tallied multiple hits, including
A.J. Torres, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Reicino went 2-for-4 with a walk, home run, three runs scored and an RBI, while Tejada went 2-for-4 with a walk, home run, run scored and two RBI.
Hilario also added a home run, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI.
The Express will continue Region XV play against Suffolk County when they take on the Sharks on Friday, March 29 at 4 p.m. at the Yaphank Athletic Complex in Yaphank, N.Y.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus as of the fall of 2017, has nine varsity and junior varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
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).
