New Rochelle, N.Y. – The Monroe College Baseball team turned in a pair of sparkling pitching performances in a shutout doubleheader against Brookdale Community College on Sunday. They defeated the Jersey Blues, 2-0, in the opener and prevailed in game two, 3-0.
Joel Urena earned the victory in game one for Monroe, improving to 4-2 on the year. In front of half a dozen professional scouts, the freshman tossed six shutout innings. He allowed just two hits and fanned six, striking out the side in the second inning.
Manuel Pizarro threw the final inning to record the save. Only two Jersey Blues hitters reached second base, and no runner made it to third.
All the action in the game came in the sixth inning, when Urena was aided by a sparkling defensive play from centerfielder
Wayne Roberts. With two outs and the bases empty, a Brookdale batter blasted a Urena pitch to the wall in center. What seemed to be a certain home run turned into an out when Roberts jumped up, made the catch, and fell over the wall while still hanging on to the ball. The terrific play kept the game scoreless.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mustangs scored twice.
Michael Crispino led off with a double.
Troy Davern bunted him to third, but the pitcher threw the ball away, allowing Crispino to score and moving Davern to second base.
Isaiah Torres advanced Davern to third on a ground out, and
Shadrach Meulens made the score 2-0 when he connected on a sacrifice fly that plated Davern. Pizarro tossed a scoreless seventh to finish the game.
Not to be outdone on the mound,
Oliver Mailloux threw 5.1 innings of shutout baseball in game two. He allowed just three hits and struck out eight.
Antonio Frias pitched the final 1.2 innings to earn the win. Monroe got on the board in the second when Torres doubled to lead off. Two batters later,
Marcus Espinal brought him in with a two-bagger of his own.
The score went to 3-0 in the fifth. After two outs, Roberts singled to right center. Crispino followed with a double, advancing Roberts to third. Davern followed with a base hit that scored both players. Monroe went on to win, 3-0.
The Monroe College Baseball team record rose to 17-19 on the year with the win. They will return to action on Monday, May 1st, against County College of Morris at 3:30 PM in Randolph, New Jersey.
