Valhalla, N.Y. – The doubleheader split on Friday between Monroe and ASA did nothing to extinguish the long-standing rivalry between the two institutions. ASA's Avengers won the opener played at Westchester Community College in Valhalla with a final score of 3-2, while Monroe's Mustangs rebounded to take the second game, 6-5. The Mustangs maintain a one-game lead for first place heading into the series finale on Saturday.
Andres Hernandez threw a complete game in the opener and was tagged with the loss, giving him a 5-3 record for the season. The freshman from Miami allowed just one earned run and struck out four.
ASA got an unearned run in the first, but Monroe tied the score in the second. With two outs on the scoreboard, they loaded the bases on a walk.
Alex De La Cruz then worked a walk and forced in
Michael Ramirez with the tying run.
The Avengers came back with another run, this one in the top of the fifth, leading 2-1 as the Mustangs came to bat in the bottom of the inning.
Ronald Jackson reached first base on a walk and then got to second on another base on balls;
Josue Perez came in to run for him.
Lewis Gonzalez laced an RBI single to right that scored Perez and evened the score at 2-2. ASA scored a run in the top of the seventh and won 3-2.
Jose Sierra took the mound for game two, as the southpaw made his first start of the season. However, he only threw one inning as ASA tagged him for three runs in the top of the first.
Oliver Mailloux relieved Sierra and threw just over four innings to earn the win after allowing just five hits.
Edward Nunez came in and earned his team-best fifth save of the season with a four-out play against his former team.
Trailing 3-0, Monroe got an unearned run in the second and added a run in the third on another Gonzalez RBI double that one-hopped over the wall in right field. De La Cruz scored and the Mustangs trailed 3-2. An inning later, Monroe would grab a 5-3 lead.
With two outs,
Ramger Iglesias reached on an infield hit.
Endy Villalona followed with a walk. De La Cruz then hit the second homer in as many days. The lead was extended to 6-3 in the next inning later thanks to an RBI base hit from Ramirez.
ASA showed some guile and scored a pair of runs in the top of the six inning. Nunez then came in to relieve Mailloux, striking out the first batter he faced to end the inning. He would then retire the Avengers in order in the seventh, giving Monroe the 6-5 win.
De La Cruz was the offensive catalyst for the Mustangs. He had a pair of hits, scored twice and drove in three. The Mustangs and Avengers will play a final game on Saturday, April 30, at 7PM in New Rochelle at City Park. The winner of that contest will have the top seed for the upcoming regional tournament.
