SELDEN, N.Y., May 10, 2022 – When you're hot, you're hot, and the Monroe College Express baseball team could not have picked a better time to catch fire, scoring 41 runs in two championship games to come back in the 2022 NJCAA Region 15 Div. III Baseball Championship Tournament and win the program's first-ever Region 15 Championship on Tuesday. Needing to win twice, the Express rolled to an 18-9 win in Tuesday's opener before putting a huge comeback in Game 2 to win, 23-9, and secure the Region Championship.
 
As the Region 15 Champions, the Express now advance to this weekend's Northeast District Championship Series against Region 21 Champion, and No. 3-ranked Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Mass.
 
Joseph Rosario was named the 2022 Region 15 Championship Tournament MVP after an absurdly strong five tournament games. He batted .560 with an OPS of 1.407, totaling 14 hits, three doubles, a home run, 12 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Rosario batted 8-for-12 with six RBIs and five runs scored in Tuesday's pair of wins over Suffolk to help Monroe secure the Region Title.
 
GAME 1: Monroe 18, Suffolk 9
Much like Monday's huge elimination-game victory over Nassau, the Express got off to an absolutely huge start to open play on Tuesday. Singles by Juan Jorge and Joseph Rosario got the top of the first going on the right foot. A double steal with the runners on first and third managed to bring Jorge home for the first run of the day.
 
The hits just kept coming for the Express in the first. Salomon Lluveres hit an RBI single to score Rosario, and then Ernie Farrell doubled in Lluveres for a 3-0 lead. Jose Arrieta sacrificed Farrell to third, and then he scored on a passed ball. With two outs, Randy Diaz kept things going with a double, and then Ruben Ogando doubled him in for the fifth Express run. Alex Rodriguez singled in Ogando, Jorge followed with a walk, and then a balk moved both into scoring position. Rosario took advantage with a two-RBI double to right, leaving the Express with a huge 8-0 lead in the first.
 
Suffolk managed to get a run back in the home half of the first when Nick LoMonaco scored from third on a wild pitch to make it an 8-1 game. After a scoreless second, the Express got back on the board in the third. A pair of walks led to Ogando and Jorge both moving into scoring position with one away. Rosario then knocked them both in with a single into left, pushing Monroe's lead to 10-1.
 
The Sharks began to threaten in the bottom of the fourth. Four straight hits resulted in a run, with a sacrifice fly bringing in another to make it a 10-3 game. Another RBI single brought another run across for Suffolk, and then one more sacrifice fly made it a 10-5 ballgame, but the Express escaped from there.
 
The Express rallied in the fifth to erase Suffolk's runs from the inning prior. With the bases loaded, Lluveres was hit by a pitch, bringing in Monroe's 11th run of the game. Farrell singled in Alex Rodriguez, and then Arrieta knocked in Rosario and Lluveres to make it a 14-5 game. Gutierrez brought in one more on a single to left, leaving the Express up, 15-5.
 
Suffolk once again proved it would not go down without a fight in Game 1. Julian Almonte hit an RBI double to make it 15-6, and then with two outs, Peter Montana hit a two-RBI single to left, cutting Monroe's lead to 15-8 after five.
 
After all that scoring in the first five frames, neither team managed to bring another runner home before the top of the ninth. Singles by Farrell and Arrieta, followed by a one-out walk by Diaz, had the bases loaded for the Express in the ninth. Quinn Kilroy then singled through the left side, plating Farrell and Arrieta to push the lead to 17-8. Rodriguez added one more RBI single to score Diaz and leave the Express with an 18-8 advantage.
 
Suffolk had runners on first and third with one out in the home half of the ninth when a balk allowed LoMonaco to score and make it a nine-run game. The Express shut things down from there with the final two outs to pick up the win and force one final game.
 
Alex Rodriguez Bello earned the win with 2.2 frames of work in relief to improve to 6-0 on the year. Tyler Cadena notched his second save of the season by tossing the final three innings without allowing an earned run. Derek Perez took the loss for Suffolk after not being able to get out of the first inning.
 
Rosario had another big game for the Express, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored in the win. Farrell batted 4-for-5 with three runs, two RBIs and a double. Ogando went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI. Rodriguez hit 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Lluveres finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Jorge scored three runs in a 1-for-4 effort. Gutierrez hit 2-for-6 with a double and an RBI. Arrieta knocked in two runs and scored one himself in a 2-for-5 outing. Diaz went 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Kilroy made his only at-bat count with a two-RBI single.
 
GAME 2: Monroe 23, Suffolk 9
Game 2 got off to exactly half the start of Game 1. Rosario hit a one-out single in the top of the first, and then walks by Lluveres, Farrell and Arrieta brought in the first run of the game. Gutierrez followed with a two-RBI single to center to make it a 3-0 game. With two outs, Gutierrez was nearly picked off, but a throw by the first baseman during a rundown got away, allowing Arrieta to score on the play and leave Monroe up, 4-0.
 
Unlike Game 1, things took a turn for the worse, as the Sharks tallied five runs to take a 5-4 lead after the first frame. Making matters worse, Suffolk rallied again in the second, bringing three more runs across to take an 8-4 advantage on the Express after two.
 
Monroe began to chip away in the fourth. After a walk and a steal by Jorge, Rosario doubled to center, bringing him home to get the Express back within three. However, the Sharks later pushed the lead back to four with a run in the bottom of the fifth.
 
In the top of the sixth, Rodriguez drew a walk, and then moved to second on a failed pickoff by the pitcher. Jorge followed with a single to center, bringing Rodriguez home to make it a 9-6 ballgame.
 
Arrieta, Gutierrez and Diaz all walked to start the seventh for Monroe. Ogando then grounded out to second, but it was enough to plate Arrieta to make it a two-run game. Rodriguez then reached on an error by the second baseman, scoring Gutierrez to bring the Express within one. Jorge followed that up with a single to left, plating Diaz to tie the game at 9-9. Rosario then singled to left to load the bases. Lluveres hit a sacrifice fly to left, bringing Rodriguez in to put the Express back in the lead, 10-9. Farrell then doubled to right, clearing the bases to take a 12-9 edge. Arrieta added one more RBI single up the middle, scoring Farrell to leave the Express on top of the Sharks, 13-9.
 
Diaz led off the eighth with a double to left, and then Ogando was hit by a pitch. An error on a sacrifice bunt by Rodriguez then brought Diaz home, pushing the lead to 14-9.
 
Just in case a five-run lead was not enough, the Express had one more explosion left in them in the top of the ninth. Lluveres walked, and then Farrell and Arrieta were both hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. A wild pitch brought In Lluveres for run No. 15. Gutierrez walked to load them up once again, and then Diaz plated two with a single to center to make it a 17-9 game. Ogando followed with an RBI single to right to put Monroe up by nine. With the bases loaded again, Jorge walked to put the Express ahead by 10. Rosario followed with an RBI single to go up, 20-9, and then Lluveres beat out an infield single to bring another run home for a 12-run advantage. A wild pitch later plated Jorge to bring the score to 22-9. Finally, a passed ball with two outs brought Rosario home from third, reaching the eventual final score of 23-9.
 
Anderson Cuello was terrific in a long-relief outing, going 7.1 innings without allowing an earn run to improve to 3-1 on the season. Daniel Deutsch took the loss for Suffolk after giving up the lead in the seventh.
 
Rosario hit 5-for-7 in Game 2 with three runs, two RBIs and a double. Jorge scored three times and knocked in three runs while hitting 2-for-5 out of the leadoff spot. Diaz went 2-for-6 with a double, three runs and two RBIs. Arrieta batted 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBIs and three walks. Farrell finished 1-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs and a two-bagger. Lluveres knocked in two runs and scored twice in a 1-for-4 effort. Gutierrez scored twice and knocked in two runs in a 1-for-5 outing. Ogando plated two in a 1-for-5 game of his own. Rodriguez finished 0-for-3, but was highly productive anyway with three runs scored, an RBI and two walks.
 
The Express are set for a big challenge this coming weekend at the Northeast District Championship Series. No. 3 Northern Essex Community College hosts the Express riding a 31-game winning streak and a 39-2 overall record. The red-hot Express will begin their best-of-three series with the Knights on Friday, May 13, with an 11 a.m. first pitch.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 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 and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 14 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).