GARDEN CITY, N.Y., May 20, 2021 – The Monroe College Express baseball team made its first-ever appearance in the Region 15 Championship Tournament on Thursday, but unfortunately dropped the first two games in a best-of-three series to Nassau Community College, eliminating the Express from the postseason. Nassau will now advance to take on top-seeded Suffolk County Community College in a best-of-three series beginning on Friday.
 
Game 1: Nassau 12, Monroe 11
The Express nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages in Game 1 on Thursday. Trailing 12-6 heading into the ninth, the Express showed their resilience to nearly extend the game. Demetrio Rodriguez led off the frame with a single to right, then Jose Holguin singled into left. Anthony Burgos drew a walk, loading the bases and chasing Nassau's starter. Joseph Rosario then cleared the bases with a double to left, getting the Express back within three, still without an out in the frame.
 
Alexander Aponte flew out to enter, but Rosario moved up to third on the play. Quinn Kilroy then doubled him in to make it a two-run game. With two outs, Allyn Ramsay hit a pinch-hit single to put runners on the corners. Jose Arrieta then beat out an infield single to bring in Kilroy and make it a one-run ballgame. Rodriguez walked to load the bases once again. Holguin then skied one into centerfield, but the ball was caught for the final out of the game, resulting in a 12-11 final in favor of the Lions.
 
The Lions established an early lead in the game with three runs in the bottom of the first. They took a 4-1 lead into the sixth frame, and then both teams scored in each at-bat after that point. A five-run eighth for Nassau put the game just out of reach for Monroe.
 
Holguin finished 4-for-6 with a triple, a double, two runs and an RBI in Game 1. Kilroy hit 3-for-5 with a double, three runs and two RBIs. Arrieta went 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Rosario made his one hit count, finishing 1-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored.
 
Chris Dominguez got the start and went six frames, but yielded five earned runs to shoulder his third loss of the season. James Capozzi went eight-plus innings for Nassau, giving up nine runs (six earned), but still getting the win to improve to 3-1.
 
Game 2: Nassau 9, Monroe 5
The Express held the advantage for most of the game in Thursday's finale. They grabbed the lead in the top of the second when Aponte blasted a two-run homer to center for an early 2-0 edge. Later in the frame, Arrieta provided an RBI single to score Kilroy and leave the Express up, 3-0.
 
Nassau grabbed a run in the home half of the second to get back within two, but the Express negated it in the top of the third. Aponte came through again with an RBI single to score Holguin and put the Express up by a score of 4-1.
 
Nassau picked up a run in each of the third and fifth innings to get back within a run at 4-3. The Lions then put together their big rally for the game in the seventh, tallying six runs to jump into the lead, 9-4.
 
The Express managed to get on the board once more in the top of the ninth when Holguin hit a two-out RBI double to score Andry Castro and bring the score to 9-5, but there was no five-run rally for the Express time around, as they fell by four runs in Game 2 to end the series.
 
Yonelis Rodriguez took the loss for the Express in relief to fall to 0-2 on the year. Joseph DeTommaso went seven frames in relief for Nassau to grab the win and improve to 2-0.
 
Holguin, Aponte and Kilroy each hit 2-for-4 in Game 2. Aponte provided three RBIs and a run with a home run, while Holguin doubled for both of his hits, scored a run and knocked in another. Kilroy scored a run as well. Arrieta went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
 
Unfortunately, Thursday's pair of losses ended the 2021 campaign for the Express. They made their first postseason appearance since the program's establishment in 2018 and finished 7-20 overall in an abbreviated season. The Express will look to continue the program's growth with a full slate in 2022.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 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).