POMONA, N.Y., April 1, 2019 – Monroe Express JV baseball fell to Saint Thomas Aquinas Club, 14-7, on Monday at Palisades Credit Union Park, dropping to 0-4 on the season.
 
Jasson Medina and Daniel Coradin strung together back-to-back two out singles in the top of the first, but Franklin Contreras struck out and the Express left two on in the first.
 
STAC Club took the lead in the bottom of the second. A pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Chris Ott, whose fielder's choice gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Johan Warum walked to make it 2-0, before three straight singles made it 6-0. The Spartans added five more runs in the inning, capped off by RBI singles by Ott and Warum, to take an 11-0 lead.
 
The Express responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third. With one out, Yony De Leon singled and stole second. Alberto Taveras followed with a walk, before Coradin's RBI single got the Express on the scoreboard. Coradin stole second to put runners on second and third before a wild pitch brought Taveras home to cut the deficit to 11-2.
 
Rafael Duran Perez stranded two Spartans in the bottom of the third, before the Express added another run in the top of the fourth. Singles by Julian Ovalles-Garcia and Duran Perez put runners at the corners for Taveras, who singled to left to score a run. But Duran Perez was thrown out at third, ending the inning with the Express down 11-3.
 
The Spartans added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth. After Warum reached on a fielder's choice, singles by Mike Bavero and Gary Del Rosario knocked in a pair and extend STAC's lead to 13-3.
 
Saint Thomas Aquinas Club added another run in Stephan Finkel's RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth, before the Express knocked in a few more in the top of the sixth.
 
With one out, Leandro Rodriguez singled to right and scored on an error to cut the deficit to 14-4. Ovalles-Garcia knocked in Rafael Hidalgo with an RBI single, Duran Perez walked and Taveras singled before Jesus Tejada's two-run double cut STAC Club's lead to 14-7.
 
But Yianni Koustsombaris kept the Express off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh to finish off the 14-7 victory for the Spartans.
 
Ryan Johnson (1-0) earned the win for STAC Club, while De Leon (0-2) took the loss for the Express.
 
Taveras went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI, while Ovalles-Garcia went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Coradin also tallied two hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Michael Ramos legged out a triple, and Tejada and Alberto Guerrero each hit doubles.
 
The Express will be back in action on Wednesday, April 3 when they again take on Saint Thomas Aquinas Club at Palisades Credit Union Park in Pomona, N.Y. First pitch is slated for 3:30 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).