NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Monroe College – Bronx baseball team earned a victory in regional play over Queensborough Community College, 8-1, at Flowers Park on Tuesday afternoon. The Express advance to 16-5 in Region 15 play (19-19 overall), good for second place in the region standings. The Tigers drop to 6-15 overall and in the region.
 
Sophomore pitcher Adrian Quezada had another terrific start on the mound for the Express as he earned a complete-game victory by striking out 16 batters, giving up no earned runs on just two hits, and surrendering just two walks in nine innings pitched.
 
"Dominant pitching performance by Adrian Quezada bolstered by offensive explosion," Express Head Baseball Coach Bryan Diaz said.
 
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning. The Express had a runner on third and nobody out. Sophomore center fielder Bryant Quezada scorched an infield single to the mound that scored rookie second baseman Joeliel Cruz from third to give Monroe a 1-0 advantage. The Blue and Gold scored the next two runs on errors to pad the lead to 3-0.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore first baseman Camilo Rodriguez drilled a two-out triple to right which scored freshman third baseman Giovanny Flores all the way from first to extend Monroe's benefit to 4-0. 
 
In the home half of the seventh, with a runner on first, Flores drilled a single to right. The right fielder deflected the ball off the hop and it ended up in the right-field corner. That allowed Bryant Quezada to come around to score for Monroe's fifth run. Two batters later, sophomore designated hitter Gregory Espinal drilled a double to score Flores to inflate the Express' cushion to 6-0.
 
Monroe scored two more runs in the eighth, thanks to an RBI single each by Bryant Quezada and freshman shortstop Yan Ortiz Torres, to make it 8-0 in favor of the Express.
 
The Tigers pushed across a run in the top of the ninth to get on the board, but Adrian Quezada was able to get the final batter of the game to strike out swinging to clinch the Region 15 win for the Express.
 
At the plate for Monroe, Bryant Quezada went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases. Ortiz Torres went 3-for-5 with a run scored and stole two bases. Flores had three hits in five at bats with three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Freshman left fielder Edwin Minaya Jr. and rookie catcher Yadiel Santana each reached base with a single. Sophomore right fielder Antwon Beverly tripled, walked, stole a base, and scored a run. Cruz singled and stole a pair of bases.
 
The Express and Tigers will play again at Flowers Park on Friday afternoon. The Region 15 contest will begin at 4:00 p.m. 
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 31 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 seven 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/X (@MonroeExpress), Instagram (@MonroeExpress), and Threads (@MonroeExpress).