GARDEN CITY, N.Y., May 8, 2021 – In a doubleheader to determine the final seeding for the 2021 Region 15 Baseball Championship Tournament, the Monroe College Express lost a pair of games at Nassau Community College Saturday afternoon. The Express fall to 7-17 overall and 1-5 in region play with the losses, while the Lions improve to 10-6 and 3-3.
 
Game 1: Nassau 9, Monroe 6
Much of Game 1's scoring took place in the first inning on Saturday. The Express put together a big rally in their first at-bat, beginning with Jose Arrieta singling to lead off the game, then moving to second on an error. Demetrio Rodriguez then brought him in with a single into right to give the Express an immediate 1-0 edge. With two on and one out, Alexander Aponte hit a two-RBI double to left to make it a 3-0 game. With two outs, Andry Castro singled in Aponte to push the lead to four, and after a Quinn Kilroy double, an error on a grounder hit by Jalfani Cruz brought in one more run to leave the Express up, 5-0.
 
The Lions immediately began to chip away at the Express' lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to make it a 5-3 ballgame. They later added another run in the bottom of the third to get within a run of the Express.
 
Arrieta was on third in the top of the fourth when Rodriguez singled to left, bringing in Monroe's sixth run of the game to make it 6-4.
 
Nassau then put together a three-hit, three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-6 lead and go up for good in the game. They picked up another two runs in the bottom of the fifth to reach the eventual final score of 9-6.
 
Bryan Krolikowski went the complete game for Nassau, allowing six runs (five earned) on 15 hits to pick up the win and improve to 2-0. Denis Garcia took the loss in relief for Monroe to fall to 0-2.
 
Rodriguez went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in the game. Castro hit 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Kilroy finished 2-for-2 with a double, while Aponte went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a run and a double of his own. Anthony Burgos batted 2-for-4 with a run, while Arrieta scored twice after a 2-for-4 outing of his own.
 
Game 2: Nassau 9, Monroe 4
The Lions got off to a hot start in Game 2, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings to take a 6-0 advantage.
 
The Express had runners on the corners in the top of the third when Jose Holguin singled into right, scoring both runners to make it a 6-2 game.
 
The Express got back on the board with two outs in the fourth. Rodriguez doubled to center to score Franklin Contreras and get the Express within three.
 
Nassau pushed back and managed to score another two runs in the home half of the fourth to take an 8-3 edge on the Express.
 
Holguin led off the fifth with a single up the middle, and then stole both second and third. Aponte brought him in on a ground out to short, leaving the Express down, 8-4.
 
Unfortunately, that was all the scoring for the Express in Game 2. Nassau added one more run in the fifth for the eventual final score of 9-4.
 
James Capozzi picked up the win for Nassau after tossing five innings and allowing four runs. Arturo Aviles took the loss for the Express to drop to 2-3.
 
Rodriguez once again could not get out in Game 2, going 4-for-4 for the second time on Saturday with an RBI, a run scored and a double. Holguin hit 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Contreras batted 1-for-2 with a run. Cruz finished 1-for-3 with a run.
 
The Express will meet the Lions again next weekend in the Region 15 Championship first round, a best-of-three series to advance to the following weekend's final. Monroe comes in as the No. 3 seed, while Nassau earned the No. 2 spot in the tournament. The winner of the three-game series will challenge No. 1 Suffolk County Community College for the Region 15 Title. The first round will be hosted by Suffolk in Selden, N.Y., and is set to begin on Friday, May 14, with a single nine-inning game at 3 p.m. Game 2 will be played on Saturday, May 15, at 1 p.m., and, if necessary, Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday, May 16, at 12 p.m.

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).