SELDEN, N.Y., May 6, 2022 – The Monroe College Express baseball team made history on Friday, as the Express won their first-ever Region 15 Championship Tournament game with a 19-3, run-rule victory over Bronx Community College in an elimination game at Suffolk County Community College. The win advances the Express in the tournament, while the Broncos are sent home. The Express were scheduled to play the loser of No. 1 Suffolk vs. No. 2 Nassau Community College later on Friday, but the rest of the day was washed out by inclement weather.
 
The Express went down early in Friday's matchup when the Broncos scored a run in the top of the first. Monroe then caught a break during its first at-bat of the day and never looked back. With two outs, Salomon Lluveres reached on an error to keep the inning alive, a play that Bronx would quickly regret. Lluveres stole second, and then went to third on a throwing error by the catcher. Ernie Farrell singled him in to tie the game. Jose Arrieta followed with an RBI triple to take the lead, and then Malvin Gutierrez doubled in Arrieta. Ruben Ogando followed with a double of his own to score Gutierrez for Monroe's fourth run of the inning. With the bases loaded after a pair of walks, a wild pitch brought in Ogando, leaving the Express on top, 5-1.
 
Bronx got a run back in the second when Luis Roman Sanchez homered to left to make it a 5-2 game. That was no problem for the Express, as they put another big inning in the scorebook. Rosario and Lluveres each drew a walk to start the inning. A wild pitch put both into scoring position, and then another one brought Rosario home to make it a 6-2 score. Arrieta followed with an RBI single, and then Gutierrez drew a walk. A double steal led to the ball getting away at third, sending Arrieta home for Monroe's eighth run. Ogando drew another walk, and then another wild pitch moved him and Gutierrez to second and third. Anthony Gonzalez Jr. plated Gutierrez with a single into right. With the bases loaded and one out, Juan Jorge hit into a fielder's choice, but it was enough to bring in Ogando and leave the Express up, 10-2.
 
The Broncos once again managed to bring a run across in the top of the third. The Express opened the home half of the inning with three straight walks, and the Gutierrez hit a sacrifice fly to score Lluveres. Ogando then doubled in two runs to push the lead to 10. After another couple of walks, Rosario ripped one to right and hustled around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam, making it a 17-3 lead for Monroe after three.
 
Arrieta singled to lead off the fourth for Monroe. Gutierrez then doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Quinn Kilroy came on to pinch hit, and came through with a two-RBI double to left, improving Monroe's lead to 19-3. The Express kept the Broncos off the board in the fifth, forcing the game to end via the run rule and eliminating Bronx from the tournament.
 
Victor Vilomar came on in relief in the first and was terrific for the Express the rest of the way, allowing just one earned run on one hit with nine strikeouts across 4.1 frames to improve to 2-0 on the season. Christopher Messon took the loss for Bronx.
 
Rosario finished 1-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs after hitting an inside-the-park grand slam. Arrieta scored four times and knocked iin two runs after going 3-for-3 with a triple. Ogando hit 2-for-2 with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored, while Gutierrez also went 2-for-2 with two doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Farrell batted 1-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Gonzalez hit 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI. Kilroy made the most of his one at-bat with a two-RBI double.
 
Inclement weather the rest of Friday has put the tournament schedule in flux. The Region 15 Championship at Suffolk will attempt to continue on Saturday, May 7. Fans can check MonroeExpress.com or the Monroe Express social media pages for schedule updates when they are made available.

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).