GROTON, Conn., April 15, 2018 – It was an historic afternoon for the Monroe College baseball team on Saturday, as the Mustangs picked up a doubleheader sweep of UConn-Avery Point on the road. Francisco Justo shut down the Pointers in Game 1, allowing just one hit in 6.1 innings for a 6-0 victory. Richard Moesker followed with one of the rarest feats in baseball, tossing a no-hitter, the second in Monroe Mustangs baseball history, en route to a 4-0 win. Monroe improves to 21-8 on the season with the sweep, while the Pointers fall to 14-7-1.
 
Game 1: Monroe 6, UConn-Avery Point 0
Monroe did much of its damage in the top of the first in Game 1, capitalizing on a couple miscues by the Pointers. Edwin Feliciano Jr. was hit by a pitch with one away, and then Iasid Bernal reached on an error by the third baseman. Lenyn Napoleon drew a walk, and then an error by the shortstop on a grounder by Shadrach Meulens' allowed all three runs to score, leaving the Mustangs up, 3-0.
 
The Mustangs struck again in the second when Gustavo Gonzalez walked to lead off the inning, then moved all the way to third after a wild pitch and a groundout. He scored on the second wild pitch of the inning to give the Mustangs a 4-0 lead.
 
Monroe added some insurance in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third, Marcos Hernandez singled into left field, scoring Feliciano to take a five-run lead. Troy Davern followed with another single to left, plating Bernal to go up, 6-0.
 
Justo did not allow a base hit through the first six innings of Saturday's opener. UConn's Brayden Cooney broke up the no-no with a leadoff single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh. He got the next batter to strike out before giving way to Jason Alvarez, who registered the final two outs to complete the shutout.
 
Justo improved to 5-0 on the season after yielding just one hit across 6.1 frames. He struck out 12 batters in the process, his fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Trevor Bolduc took the loss for the Pointers to fall to 2-1.
 
Davern finished 1-for-3 with an RBI for Monroe, while Hernandez hit 1-for-2 with an RBI of his own. Feliciano batted 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while Bernal scored twice despite going 0-for-3. Monroe drew eight walks in the Game-1 win.
 
Game 2: Monroe 4, UConn-Avery Point 0
The Mustangs did all of their damage in the first inning in Saturday's finale, once again taking advantage of a few mistakes on defense by UConn. Feliciano hit a one-out single to start a rally, and Napoleon kept it going with a two-out single to right. Leandy Castro then reached on an error by the second baseman that allowed Feliciano to score and make it a 1-0 game. Davern then singled through the hole on the left side, scoring Napoleon for a 2-0 edge. Kevin Garcia then sent a double into left, plating Castro and Davern to cap off a four-run first, which represented all the scoring in Game 2.
 
Moesker allowed a baserunner on an error in the bottom of the first, but kept it clean the rest of the inning. A leadoff walk in the second put another Pointer on base, but Moesker followed that up with three straight strikeouts. He then produced back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth. The second batter of the fifth reached on a walk, but Moesker then turned a double play after snagging a line drive that came right back to him and doubling off the runner at first. He yielded a couple of walks in the sixth, but escaped trouble by striking out the final batter of the inning. Moesker capped off the no-hitter by shutting down the Pointers in order in the seventh.
 
Moesker improves to 4-1 on the season after recorded the second no-hitter in program history on Saturday. He struck out seven batters in seven frames and earned his first complete-game shutout of the season as well. UConn starter Andy Grant put in a solid effort against the Mustangs, throwing seven innings and allowing four unearned runs, but took the loss to fall to 3-2.
 
Napoleon batted 2-for-4 with a run scored in Game 2. Garcia hit 1-for-3 with a two-RBI double. Davern went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Encarnacion hit a double in a 1-for-3 effort.
 
The Mustangs will face off with the Pointers once again on Sunday, April 15, in another doubleheader in Groton, Conn. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled 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).