NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., April 25, 2019 – The Monroe Express softball team split its Sophomore Day doubleheader against the Suffolk County Community College Sharks on Thursday at Flowers Park, walking-off to take game one, 4-3, before falling, 19-3, in a run-rule shortened five innings in game two. Following the doubleheader, the Express move to 4-16 (3-7 Region XV), while the Sharks sit at 14-12 (10-2 Region XV).
 
GAME 1: MONROE 4, SUFFOLK COUNTY 3
Suffolk County struck first in the top of the first inning. Gianna Venuti drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Heather Cicinnati's groundout to short. Sabrina Burrus then singled to left, scoring Venuti from second to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
 
The Express came right back to tie things up in the bottom of the frame. Yejeiri Frias and Zahra Medina drew back-to-back walks to put two one and nobody out. Jesiuska Cabral laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third, before Yesennia Baez tied the game with an RBI single down the left field line.
 
Both teams left a runner on in the second, before the Express took the lead in the bottom of the third. Frias and Medina again drew back-to-back walks and Cabral hit a single to left to load the bases. After Baez struck out, Raileni Amarante grounded out to third to score a run, giving the Express a 2-1 lead.
 
The Sharks left the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, but tied the game in the top of the fifth. Cicinnati reached on a throwing error, moving to second on Burrus' groundout. Dina Kessinger then singled up the middle, scoring Cicinnati to tie the game at two.
 
And after the Express went scoreless in the bottom of the inning, SUNY Suffolk took the lead in the top of the sixth. With two outs, Jessica Laguerra tripled to left center and Venuti followed with an RBI double, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead.
 
In the top of the seventh, Baez worked around a pair of errors to keep the Sharks off the scoreboard, sending the Express to the bottom of the seventh with a chance to tie or take the lead.
 
Stephanie Avalo led off with a walk, but was erased on a line-drive double play. However, Frias reached on an error to give the Express some life, and Medina followed with a single down the right field line to put the game-tying run 90 feet away from scoring. Cabral then rapped a two-run double down the left field line, scoring both Frias and Medina to give Monroe the 4-3, walk-off victory.
 
Baez (4-10) earned the win for the Express, while Hannah Longboat (4-8) took the loss for the Sharks.
 
Cabral went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI, while Frias went 0-for-1 with three walks and three runs scored.
 
GAME 2: SUFFOLK COUNTY 19, MONROE 3 (5)
Jasmeilyn Garcia gave the Express the lead in the bottom of the second with an inside-the-park home run, her first of the year.
 
However, the Sharks answered with six runs in the top of the third to take a 6-1 lead.
 
Monroe scratched out two more runs in the bottom of the third on Cabral's fielder's choice and Amarante's RBI single to right, but SUNY Suffolk answered with 11 runs in the top of the fourth to take a 17-3 lead.
 
Suffolk County added two more in the fifth on Olivia Baudo's RBI single and Cicinnati's sacrifice fly to extend their lead to 19-3, and Longboat worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth to finish off the run-rule victory for the Sharks.  
 
Baez (4-11) took the loss for Monroe, while Longboat (5-8) picks up the win for the Sharks.
 
Garcia went 1-for-2 with a home run, run scored and RBI, while Frias and Medina each scored a run, with Frias going 1-for-3 and Medina going 1-for-2.
 
The Express will next take on Nassau Community College in a doubleheader that was originally scheduled for April 20, but was postponed due to inclement weather causing unplayable field conditions. The date and time of the rescheduled doubleheader have yet to be determined.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 30 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 11 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).