NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., March 28, 2019 – In their first intra-campus matchup in program history, the Monroe College Express JV baseball team fell to the Monroe Mustangs JV, 9-4, on Thursday at Dick Caswell Field.
 
The Mustangs struck first against Yony De Leon, as Javier Ortiz reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the first, and stole second and third before scoring on Chayanne Carty's sacrifice fly to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
 
Key Jimenez walked to lead off the top of the second. Jasson Medina's single put runners at first and third, and Jimenez and Medina executed a double steal to tie the game at one. Rafael Hidalgo and Brayan walked to load the bases, before De Leon's fielder's choice gave the Express a 2-1 lead.
 
De Leon worked around a pair of walks to keep the Mustangs JV off the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame, but the Mustangs retook the lead in the bottom of the third. Kevin Hernandez led off with a single, before walks by Carty and Carlos Aranda loaded the bases for the Mustangs with nobody out.
 
Jordy Batista's two-run single gave the Mustangs the lead, and the Mustangs tacked on two more in the inning to extend their lead to 5-2.
 
Both the Express and Mustangs' bats went silent in the fourth and fifth, before the Mustangs added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Ortiz's leadoff triple put a runner on third for Hernandez, whose groundout made it 6-2.
 
Albert De Los Santos struck out Carty for the first out of the inning, but back-to-back singles by Aranda and Batista plated another Mustangs' run to make it 7-2. Eddy Vicioso made it 8-2 with an RBI double, before Jaylen Kelly reached on a throwing error, scoring Vicioso to give the Mustangs a 9-2 lead.
 
The Express answered with a run in the top of the seventh on Alberto Taveras' RBI single, and added another run in the eighth when Daniel Coradin scored from third cut the Mustangs' lead to 9-4.
 
However, Manielvic Diplan shut the Mustangs down in the top of the ninth, striking out the final two batters of the inning, to finish off the 9-4 victory for the Mustangs JV.
 
Diplan (2-1) earned the win for the Mustangs, while De Leon (0-1) took the loss for the Express. With the loss, the Express fall to 0-3, while the Mustangs move to 3-8.
 
Jimenez went 1-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and a run scored, while Medina went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored. Taveras went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, also adding two stolen bases.
 
Eight different Express players tallied a stolen base, including Taveras, Jimenez and De Los Santos who each led the way with two.
 
The Express will be back in action on Monday, April 1 when they travel to Palisades Credit Union Park in Pomona, N.Y. for a rematch with Saint Thomas Aquinas Club at 3 p.m.
 
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).