BROOKLYN – The Monroe College – Bronx baseball team has qualified for the Region 15 Championship Round after splitting its two Region 15 playoff games on Saturday afternoon. The Express (23-21) lost the first game to the defending Region 15 Champion Kingsborough Community College Wave, 17-2, which forced the Blue and Gold to play in an elimination game later in the day. Monroe – Bronx bounced back in that contest by earning a thrilling come-from-behind victory over top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 12 Suffolk County Community College, 12-11. Both games took place at Kingsborough Athletics Field.
 
As a result, Monroe – Bronx will battle Kingsborough (19-20) for the Region 15 Championship on Sunday. The Express must win two games over the Wave to claim the regional title, while KCC just has to win one to clinch the championship. The first game will be at 1:00 p.m. on the campus of Kingsborough. The second game, if necessary, will take place shortly after the conclusion of the first game. These two teams met in last year's Region 15 Championship Round as well, which was won by the Wave.
 
In the Express' victory in the elimination contest over the Sharks (30-20), they trailed by three runs twice but had a five-run inning in the eighth to retake the lead for good and then hung on at the end of the game to punch their ticket into the Region 15 Championship Round.
 
Suffolk County got off to a good start in the game by taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. 
 
The Express countered in the top of the third as sophomore left fielder Gregory Espinal drilled a single to right which scored rookie second baseman Joeliel Cruz from second to tie the game at one. 
 
The next couple of innings were dominated by pitching between sophomore Didier Hernandez of the Express and freshman Jacob Galaz of the Sharks as they matched zero for zero all the way until the bottom of the fifth. In that frame, the Sharks grabbed their second lead of the contest thanks to an RBI single off the bat of sophomore center fielder William Winter, with two outs, to give them a 2-1 advantage.
 
Suffolk County added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a towering two-run home run by freshman catcher Jake Tannenbaum to left which extended the top-seeded team's lead to 4-1.
 
Monroe – Bronx's bats woke up in the top of the seventh, scoring six runs in the stanza to jump out to a 7-4 benefit. It all started with freshman right fielder Alfredo Jimenez Jr. stepping up to the plate with runners on first and second, nobody out. He laid down a bunt up the third base line which allowed sophomore center fielder Adrian Quezada to score from second. Jimenez Jr. ended up going to second with a double and freshman designated hitter Jesus Guerrero wound up at third. Three batters later, Espinal came up with the bases loaded and one out. He hit the ball to left that was caught, but it was hit deep enough for Guerrero to score from third to pull Monroe to within one. 
 
The next hitter was sophomore catcher Hecxiel Perez who lined a double to center which scored two runs to put Monroe – Bronx in front for the first time in the afternoon, 5-4. After that, second-year first baseman Camilo Rodriguez drilled the ball deep to left and over the fence for a two-run homer to extend the Blue and Gold's advantage to 7-4.
 
Suffolk County's lineup answered right back with a six-run seventh of its own, capped off by a three-run home run by sophomore third baseman Fabian Oviedo Finol which broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Sharks a 10-7 benefit.
 
The Express countered by putting up a five-spot in the top of the eight, all with two outs, to propel them back in front by a score 12-10. It started with an RBI single by freshman shortstop Yan Ortiz Torres to score Guerrero from third to pull Monroe to within two. Two batters later, Perez came up with the bases loaded and two outs. He came through in the clutch with a bases-clearing three-run double to center to put Monroe back ahead, 11-10. Later in the inning, he ended up scoring on an RBI single off the bat of freshman third baseman Giovanny Flores to give the Express more breathing room at 12-10.
 
The Sharks threatened in the bottom of the eighth by loading the bases with two outs. However, sophomore pitcher Luis Lopez came up big for the Express by getting the opposing batter to strike out looking to escape the jam and keep Monroe's lead at 12-10.
 
The score remained the same heading to the bottom of the ninth. Quezada took the mound to try and close it out, but he ran into trouble as Suffolk County loaded the bases with nobody out. An RBI single off the bat of sophomore first baseman Dominic LaFroscia pulled the Sharks to within one, at 12-11, and the bases were still loaded with nobody out. The tying run was at third, and the game-winning run occupied second. Monroe – Bronx was in trouble. However, the Express' defense came up big as there was a fly ball that was hit to right that was caught by Jimenez Jr. The runner from third tagged up and tried to score but Jimenez Jr. threw a rocket to Perez who tagged him out at the plate to prevent the tying run from scoring and allow Monroe to keep its lead at 12-11.

Suffolk County now had runners on first and second, two outs. Quezada finished it off by striking out the next batter swinging, in just three pitches, to allow Monroe to hang on and win the high-scoring thriller and earn a berth in the Region 15 Championship Round.
 
Lopez earned the win for the Express out of the bullpen by tossing 1.1 innings of shutout ball. Quezada nailed the first save of his collegiate career.
 
For the Express at the plate, Perez had a monster game by going 3-for-5, including the two doubles, while driving in five runs, and scoring twice. Jimenez Jr. drilled two doubles, stole three bases, drew two walks, and scored twice. Ortiz Torres scored a pair of runs and stole a bag. Rodriguez went 2-for-3, including the home run, and worked two walks. Flores earned a base on balls and stole a bag. Quezada singled, walked, and stole a pair of bases. Cruz singled and stole a bag, while Guerrero produced a base hit of his own. Espinal earned a base on balls and scored.
 
Earlier in the day against Kingsborough, the Wave scored two runs in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead. The Express sliced the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Espinal scoring from third on an error in right to pull Monroe to within 2-1. 
 
Kingsborough disrupted Monroe's momentum by scoring four runs in the seventh, and then breaking the game open with 11 runs in the eighth, to take a commanding hold of the contest. 
 
Ortiz Torres provided offense for the Express by hitting a solo home run on a line drive to left in the bottom of the eighth, but it was not enough as the Wave locked down the win to earn their spot in the Region 15 Championship Round.
 
For the Express at the plate, Espinal went 3-for-4 with a stolen base. Ortiz Torres collected two hits, while Perez singled and walked. Cruz also reached base with a single.
 
On the mound, freshman pitcher Jayden Moya started the game for the Express and gave up four runs, only one of them earned, and struck out four batters in 6.2 innings pitched to take the loss.
 
For Kingsborough, second-year pitcher Andrew Ardito pitched seven innings, gave up two runs, and struck out five batters to earn the win.
 
For updates regarding the Monroe – Bronx baseball team in the Region 15 Championship Round, head over to 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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