New Rochelle, New York, March 14, 2022 – Going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Monroe Express baseball team stood six outs away from back-to-back road victories, only to see the Monroe Mustangs score two runs and rally to a 4-3 win on Monday afternoon at Dick Caswell Park. With the loss, the Express drop to 2-4 on the season while the Mustangs improve to 6-12 with the win.

The Express got down to business immediately as Jose Arrieta (New Bedford, MA) drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on a Joseph Rosario (New York, N.Y.) ground out RBI to make it 1-0 before Dante Paolucci helped the Mustangs even up the game at one on an RBI triple in the bottom of the first. After the Express went down in order, the Mustangs grabbed the lead for the first time in the bottom of the second. Luis Tejada drew a leadoff walk, and Pedro Crespo drilled a double down the third-base line to put runners in scoring position. Miguel Toribio would connect on a sacrifice fly to bring Tejada across home plate, making it 2-1.

The Express roared right back in the top of the third as Randy Diaz (Bronx, New York) led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Salomon Lluveres (Providence, Rhode Island). He joined Arrieta on a double steal to take third before Rosario cranked a sizzling two-run triple into centerfield to put Monroe-Bronx back in front 3-2.

Both offenses remained quiet until the bottom of the sixth, a familiar storyline surrounding run production continued. Angel De La Cruz led the inning off with a walk, then, after advancing on a sacrifice bunt, came in for the tying run making it 3-3 on a Crespo double to deep center field. Torbio singled up the gut to drive in the winning run as Crespo came across home plate, making it 4-3 Mustangs.
 
The Express's good start to the top of the seventh was short-lived after a Diaz leadoff single. He was caught stealing at second, then Lluveres fouled out to first base. Arrieta drew a walk and stole second to give Monroe-Bronx life, but Claudio Rodriguez shut the door for the Mustangs striking out Juan Jorge (Bronx, N.Y.) for his second save on the season to preserve the victory.
 
In his second start of the season, Chris Dominguez (Bronx, N.Y.) took the loss for the Express going 5.1 innings retiring 20 of 28 batters while allowing six hits, six walks, four runs and striking out one batter falling to 0-1. Andry Sanchez (Bronx, N.Y.) went under an inning, walking one and allowing no runs.
 
Adrian Batista earned the victory for the Mustangs tossing two scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win.
 
Rosario drove in a team-high three RBIs while Jose Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez (North Syracuse, N.Y), and Diaz all recorded a hit. Arrieta stole a team-high three bases while Diaz and Rosario had one.
 
The Express will look to return to their winning ways on Wednesday March 16 at 4 p.m. in their second game of a four-game road trip in Chester, New York against Rockland Community College. For more information, visit the Monroe Express Baseball Schedule Page.
 
 
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).