Franklin, Mass. – The Monroe College baseball team is playing its best baseball of the season, as evidenced by the doubleheader sweep at Dean on Sunday. The Mustangs took the opener, 8-2, and disposed of the Bulldogs in six innings in game two, 11-0.
Monroe took a 4-0 lead in game one with four hits in the third inning.
Ramger Iglesias led off with a bunt single. Two batters later,
Isaiah Torres singled.
Endy Villalona drove in the first run with a base hit up the middle. From there,
Cam Crabbe hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season.
Three more runs in the fifth cinched the game for Monroe. After a Torres walk, Villalona and Crabbe hit consecutive doubles; Crabbe's brought in Torres and Villalona and made the score 6-1. Three batters later,
Michael Ramirez laced a line drive to center that fell in for an RBI single that scored Crabbe. Monroe went on to win 8-2.
Francis Ortiz earned the complete game victory. He struck out seven and walked just one, improving his record to 1-1. Crabbe had a pair of hits, five RBIs, and scored three times.
The Mustangs dominated again in game two, which only went six innings due to the "ten-run" rule.
Xavier Bilodeau tossed five innings and surrendered just one hit. He earned the win and is now 2-1 for the year. Vincent Ruehl threw a perfect sixth.
The Mustangs took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, with Torres and Villalona having RBI singles.
Lewis Gonzalez drove in the third run with an RBI ground out.
Two innings later, Gonzalez blasted a homer that went over 450 feet to left field. Villalona scored on the hit and Monroe led 5-0.
Four more hits in the fifth inning accounted for two additional Monroe runs. Torres and Gonzalez reached on consecutive singles. After a groundout moved them up,
John Russo got a timely hit that plated Torres and Gonzalez, making the score 7-0.
Jose Pena had the fourth hit of the frame, also a single.
A four-run sixth inning ended the scoring for the Mustangs. With two outs, Crabbe singled and stole second. Torres walked and Gonzalez loaded the bases with a base hit. A hard smash by Ramirez brought in Crabbe, giving Monroe an 8-0 lead. Two more runners came in when a hard hit ball by Russo was misplayed at third for an error. Finally, Pena got an RBI single to make the score 11-0.
In the game, Monroe totaled 13 hits, with each batter in the lineup reaching base safely. Gonzalez had three hits, while Villalona, Torres and Pena each collected two.
The Monroe College baseball team returns to action on Saturday, May 7, when they face Suffolk CC in a doubleheader in Selden, New York. Game on is slated for 2:00 PM.
