HAVERHILL, Mass., May 13, 2022 – The Monroe College Express baseball team will have to come from behind in its first trip to the NJCAA Div. III Northeast District Championship, as the Express dropped a 9-1 decision to No. 3 Northern Essex Community College on Friday at Trinity Stadium. The Express will now need to win the final two games of the best-of-three series to capture their first-ever Northeast District Title.
 
The Express proved the No. 3-ranked Knights were human right from the jump in Game 1. Juan Jorge led off the game with a single to left, and then stole second base. Joseph Rosario sacrificed him over to third, and then Jorge scored on a wild pitch, giving the Express a very quick 1-0 advantage.
 
The Express had two outs on the Knights in the bottom of the second when Clay Campbell tripled to center. The relay throw to the infield went wild, allowing Campbell to continue home and tie the game at 1-1.
 
Logan Burrill led off the fifth with a walk for the Knights. With one out, he moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Kameron Levesque then brought him in on a single to left, putting the home team on top, 2-1. After a single by Richie Williams put runners on the corners, the abnormal outfield dimensions of Trinity Stadium came into play when Chris Bear hit an inside-the-park home run to center field, pushing Northern Essex's lead to 5-1. Nicholas White immediately followed with a double to right, and then Jared Coppola drew a walk. Richard Matos De La Cruz then extended the lead with an RBI single to make it a 6-1 game. With two down, Burrill dropped down a bunt with the runners hustling, and Coppola managed to score from second after Burrill beat the throw to first, leaving Northern Essex ahead, 7-1.
 
In the sixth, Williams drew a one-out walk, and then advanced to second on a failed pickoff. Bear then reached on an error on a grounder to third, allowing Williams to score and make it an 8-1 ballgame. With two outs, Coppola hit an RBI single into left to make it a 9-1 game, eventually forcing a run-rule finish after the Express were unable to score in the seventh.
 
Jayden Voelker went all seven frames for the Knights, allowing just one run on three hits with nine strikeouts to improve to 9-1 on the year. Samuel Tejada took his first loss of the season for the Express after yielding six earned runs in 4.1 innings.
 
Jorge hit 1-for-3 with a run scored in the game. Randy Diaz doubled in a 1-for-2 effort. Alex Rodriguez batted 1-for-3.
 
The Express will look to stay alive on Saturday, May 13, in Game 2 of the Northeast District Championship. The Express need to win to extend the series, while a win for the Knights would clinch the title for Northern Essex. Game 2 is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.

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).