WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y., March 29, 2018 – In a back-and-forth contest with tons of offense, two late rallies by the Monroe College baseball team lifted the Mustangs to a 14-11 victory over Dutchess Community College on Friday at Dutchess Stadium. Monroe improves to 12-5 on the year with the win, while Dutchess falls to 0-3.

Monroe took the early advantage in Thursday's contest, picking up a run in the top of the first. Monroe did not record a hit, but drew four walks in the inning, bringing in their first run of the game to take a 1-0 lead.

With a runner on for the Falcons, Erik Merrill singled into right field, where an error allowed Connor Light to score all the way from first, tying the game at 1-1 after one.

Brandon Kearns doubled with one away for Dutchess in the third. After moving to third on a groundout, Kearns scored on a failed pickoff attempt by the catcher, giving the Falcons the lead. Merrill then tripled to deep center field, and was later brought in after three straight walks to leave the home team up, 3-1, after three.

The Mustangs put runners on the corners with one away in the top of the fourth, setting up a sacrifice fly by Marquis Orozco that scored Ryan Hartigan to get the Mustangs back within a run. Monroe later loaded the bases, and a wild pitch brought in Marcos Hernandez to tie the game. Leandy Castro then doubled to left, scoring Edgardo Bernard and Juan Torres to put Monroe ahead, 5-3. Shadrach Meulens then singled into left, scoring Castro to put the Mustangs on top, 6-3.

Brandon Greenspan led off the home half of the fourth for the Falcons with a double to left, and a single by Brian Scheiner put runners on first and third. Kearns then singled in Greenspan and Scheiner to make it a 6-5 game. An error put runners on the corners once again, and a sacrifice fly by Paul Hansut brought in the tying run. A pair of walks then allowed one more run to score, leaving the Falcons up, 7-6, after four.

With runners once again on first and third in the fifth, Merrill hit a one-out sacrifice fly to left, scoring Scheiner to give the Falcons a two-run advantage.

With one out in the sixth, Orozco drew a walk, and then Bernard doubled to right to put two runners in scoring position. Only one would come in for the Mustangs, with Orozco scoring on a sacrifice fly by Torres to get Monroe back within a run.

The Mustangs closed the gap in the top of the seventh, when Lenyn Napoleon, in his first at bat of the game, homered to right to make it an 8-8 ballgame.

The Falcons took the lead right back in the bottom of the seventh when Light singled in Greenspan on a one-out single to left. They later loaded the bases, and brought in two more runs on a two-RBI single by Hansut, giving the home team an 11-8 edge after seven.

The Mustangs did not stay behind for long after rallying in the next half inning. The first two Mustangs were unable to reach base in the eighth, but Bernard kept the frame going with a single into left. Torres then dropped a single into center, and Castro doubled in Bernard to cut the deficit to two. Meulens then reached on an error by the third baseman that allowed both Torres and Castro to score, tying the game at 11-11.

Joseph Encarnacion then delivered a big blow in the top of the ninth, a solo homer over the left-field wall to put the Mustangs ahead, 12-11. Iasid Bernal then hit a pinch-hit double to left, and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Orozco. Bernard then brought in Bernal on a dropped fly ball by the left fielder, pushing Monroe's lead to 13-11. Bernard scored shortly after on a passed ball to make it a 14-11 game.

Victor Guzman picks up the win for the Mustangs after tossing a scoreless inning in relief, improving to 1-0 on the season. Edwin Feliciano Jr. came on to close it out in the ninth, and did not allow a hit or a run to pick up his fourth save of the year. Dutchess reliever Brian Santiago shouldered the loss for the Falcons after giving up three runs in the ninth.

Castro led the Mustangs, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a pair of doubles in the win. Napoleon and Encarnacion each came up with a big solo homer in the game. Bernard went 2-for-4 with a double and three runs scored and an RBI, while Torres hit 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs.

The Mustangs will look to stay hot on Saturday, March 31, when they host Rockland Community College in a doubleheader at Dick Caswell Field. First pitch of Game 1 is slated for 12 p.m.

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level as of the fall of 2017.

For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).