BRONX – The No. 2 seed Monroe College – Bronx baseball team earned a hard-fought victory over third-seeded Nassau Community College in the opening round of the Region 15 Postseason, by a score of 6-2, at Roberto Clemente State Park on Thursday afternoon. The Express advance to the semifinals of the double-elimination tournament where they will play the defending regional champions and current fourth-seed Kingsborough Community College on Friday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Kingsborough Athletics Field. Nassau (16-11) will take on top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 12 Suffolk County Community College in an elimination game prior to the Monroe-Kingsborough contest.
 
The victory did not come easy for the Express (22-20) as they trailed 2-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth inning. That all changed when freshman shortstop Yan Ortiz Torres launched a two-run homer to left to put the Express in front 3-2 and they never surrendered the lead again. 
 
On the mound, sophomore pitcher Adrian Quezada earned a complete-game victory for the Express by striking out seven batters and giving up just one earned run in nine innings pitched.
 
"Outstanding pitching by Adrian Quezada and a clutch performance by our offense," Express Head Baseball Coach Bryan Diaz said.
 
Monroe – Bronx struck first in the opening inning as freshman third baseman Giovanny Flores scored from third on a fielding error to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.
 
The next three innings were dominated by pitching as Quezada and sophomore pitcher Anthony Rosario of Nassau matched zero for zero. 
 
The Lions' bats broke through in the fifth with two runs, courtesy of an RBI single each by freshman second baseman Sean Richards and first-year catcher Christopher Picarella, to put the visiting team in front by a score of 2-1. In fact, Nassau had a huge opportunity to expand its benefit as they had runners on second and third with two outs. Quezada limited the damage by getting the opposing batter to ground out to third to keep Monroe's deficit at just 2-1. 
 
In the home half of the fifth, freshman second baseman Joeliel Cruz led it off with a double down the left-field line. Two batters later, Ortiz Torres stepped up to the plate with one out. He drilled the ball to left and it sailed over the fence for a two-run home run to give the Blue and Gold a 3-2 benefit. 
 
The Express added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as rookie right fielder Alfredo Jimenez Jr. came up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. He launched the ball to right field which was caught but then sophomore first baseman Camilo Rodriguez tagged up and scored from third to extend the Express' lead to 4-2. Nassau was able to get the next two outs to escape the jam before further damage could be inflicted.
 
The Lions earned a gigantic opportunity in the top of the seventh with a runner on second and one out. Freshman first baseman Joseph Lynn singled through the left side. The runner on second advanced to third and then attempted to go home. However, sophomore left fielder Gregory Espinal threw the ball from left to the infield. Flores served as the relay man by snatching the ball and then he turned around to throw to home plate. Sophomore catcher Hecxiel Perez caught the ball and tagged the sliding runner out at home. That served as a key play as Quezada got the next batter to ground out to third to end the inning without giving up a run.
 
The Express plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, capped off by an RBI double courtesy of Espinal, to pad Monroe's lead to 6-2.
 
In the top of the ninth, Quezada retired the side, 1-2-3, to punch Monroe's ticket to the regional semifinals.
 
Leading the way for the Express at the plate was Ortiz Torres. In addition to his two-run bomb, he scored two runs, drew a walk, and stole a base. Flores singled and earned a base on balls. Perez and freshman designated hitter Edwin Minaya Jr. each went 2-for-4, while Cruz lined a pair of doubles and scored just as many runs. Rodriguez scored two times, stole a base, and earned a walk. Jimenez Jr. stole a bag as well. 
 
For more information regarding Monroe - Bronx's run in the Region 15 Championships, check out MonroeExpress.com as well as our social media channels. 

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.
 
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