GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., May 24, 2018 – The No. 20-ranked, and 2018 NJCAA Div. I Eastern District Champion Monroe College baseball team is set to make its first-ever run at the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., beginning this Sunday, May 27. The Mustangs will open up the double-elimination tournament against 2016 and 2017 national runner-up, and No. 6-ranked San Jacinto College North.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
JUCO World Series will be providing live coverage for all tournament games:
Live Video (via NJCAA.tv)
Live Stats (via SIDEARM Sports)
Live Audio (via The Team 1340AM)
 
MEET THE MONROE MUSTANGS (via JUCO World Series on YouTube)

 
MAKING HISTORY
The Mustangs will play in the JUCO World Series for the first time in program history. This comes as a result of the Mustangs winning their first-ever Eastern District Championship this past weekend, going a perfect 3-0 against Harford Community College, USC Sumter and ASA College. Monroe hosted the District Championship tournament at Dutchess Stadium after claiming its fourth-straight NJCAA Region XV Championship.
 
Monroe College is the first team out of the State of New York to reach the Division I World Series since Briarcliffe College qualified in 2000. Briarcliffe opened the 2000 tournament against the same San Jacinto Gators.
 
THE ROAD TO GRAND JUNCTION
The Mustangs went 36-14-1 this year, finishing the regular season as the No. 20-ranked team in the nation, the team's first-ever national ranking.
 
Monroe was 13-6 by the end of March. Region XV played opened up against ASA College on April 6 and 7 with a pair of doubleheaders. ASA took the first game of the series, but the Mustangs responded by taking the final three of the weekend. They then split a doubleheader with the Avengers the followed Thursday afternoon, but clinched the season series with their fourth win.
 
Monroe hit the road for the next eight days, making more history along the way. As part of a weekend four-game slate at UConn-Avery Point, the Mustangs registered three-straight shutout victories, none bigger than a no-hitter tossed by Richard Moesker, the second in in program history.
 
The following week, Monroe departed for a weekend in Region XX territory, where they went 3-2-1 against the likes of Garrett College, Potomac State College and Hagerstown Community College.
 
The Mustangs had a busy final week of the season with six games in five days, going 4-2 in that stretch before kicking off the Region XV Championship series against ASA. The Mustangs came to play against their rivals, sweeping the Avengers in three games to stake claim as the Region XV Champions for the fourth consecutive season.
 
After some tumultuous weather that caused a number of adjustments to the schedule, the 2018 NJCAA Div. I Eastern District Baseball Championship began on Thursday, May 17. USC Sumter and Monroe both picked up victories in the first round to move to the winner's bracket, while ASA and Harford were forced to play in the first elimination game that day. ASA picked up the win to advance to the next day.
 
The Mustangs opened Friday's action against USC Sumter, and got a stellar performance on the hill from Antonio Frias. The sophomore southpaw tossed a complete-game shutout, striking out 16 batters to advance the Mustangs to the championship round with a 2-0 victory. USC Sumter was then forced to play for their playoff lives against ASA that afternoon, and fell to the rested Avengers, 6-3, setting up an all-Region XV finals.
 
The Mustangs held the upper hand against ASA going into Sunday's championship, which had been postponed from Saturday due to more inclement weather. Monroe had the cushion of being the lone undefeated team in the tournament to that point, meaning that ASA would need to win two games to take home the title. As they did in the Region XV Championship, the Mustangs did not take anything for granted, put their best foot forward, and defeated the Avengers, 8-1, to put themselves on the road to Grand Junction.
 
MUSTANGS ON THE MOUND
The Mustangs have been fortunate to have one of the top pitching staffs in the country this season, ranking 21st in team ERA at 3.78. They are 10th as a team with 517 strikeouts, but lead the nation with a 12.30 K/9 (strikeouts per nine innings). Frias is the No. 2 pitcher in the country in terms of earned-run average, carrying a 1.07 ERA through nine starts, as well as an 8-0 record. Francisco Justo ranked 19th overall with a 2.12 ERA. Justo and Frias rank fourth and fifth in the nation in K/9, respectively, with highly impressive averages of 15.83 and 15.65. Justo also owns a perfect 9-0 record.
 
The Mustangs have also gotten stellar results from the rest of the rotation. Moesker owns a 7-2 record and a 3.09 ERA. He helped the Mustangs to the District Championship by throwing an efficient complete-game victory against ASA, striking out a season-high 13 batters without a single walk. Francisco Urena is 4-1 with a 4.15 ERA, and hitters are batting just .185 against him this year.
 
The bullpen has been strong as well, especially down the stretch of the season. Luis Grullart has excelled in a setup role, putting together a 2.76 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. After a shaky start to the season, Jason Alvarez proved to be an incredibly reliable closer, coming into the World Series with a 3.30 ERA and nine saves, which tie him for seventh in the nation. Since March 27, Alvarez has a 0.40 ERA in 12 appearances, allowing just one earned run and nine hits in 22.1 frames. Edwin Feliciano Jr. has doubled as a center fielder and relief pitcher, and has been flawless on the rubber for Monroe. He has not allowed a run and has yielded just one hit in six appearances and six innings, picking up five saves in the process.
 
BATTING LEADERS
Marquis Orozco leads the way for Monroe heading into Grand Junction with a .333 batting average on the season. The middle infielder is second on the team with 30 runs, and leads the squad with a .476 on-base percentage. Orozco has also reached base in his past 26 games. Feliciano holds the team lead with 35 runs scored, as well as 13 stolen bases on the year.
 
Lenyn Napoleon is the team's home run leader with four on the season to go along with 10 doubles. He has also stolen 11 bases. Joseph Encarnacion had the team's longest hitting streak, going 12 straight games with a hit, as well as 21 straight games reaching base, before the run ended during the District Championship tournament. He has hit three home runs this year, as well as 10 doubles and a triple.
 
Iasid Bernal has knocked in a team-high 28 RBIs, and has played flawless defense with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Shadrach Meulens has stroked a team-best 14 doubles this year, adding a home run and 25 RBIs. Troy Davern and Feliciano match Meulens' 25 RBIs, while Davern has stretched out five triples to lead the team. Juan Torres owns a .310 batting average in 34 games and 24 starts, having scored 23 runs and stolen nine bases.
 
SCOUTING THE GATORS
The Southern District Champion San Jacinto Gators enter the World Series with a 48-13 record, and are making their 23rd appearance in the JUCO World Series, and their fourth in a row. They have won five World Series titles, and have an 84-38 record in World Series play.
 
The Gators own the nation's third-best team ERA at 2.52, trailing just Iowa Western (1.85) and Chattahoochee Valley (2.48). Sophomore lefty Jacob Cantelberry is second in the nation with 12 wins and leads the team with 89 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. He owns a 2.99 ERA as well. Trey Dillard has a 1.80 ERA for the Gators and has registered a team-leading seven saves.
 
Tyriece Silas leads the Gators with a .418 batting average. Alerick Soularie is right behind him with a .403 average, and leads the team with a .514 on-base percentage, .761 slugging percentage, eight triples and 61 runs scored. He also has 10 home runs and 46 RBIs on the season. Sergio Macias has hit 13 home runs and knocked in 79 RBIs, good for seventh in the country. The Gators are batting .330 as a team on the season, and have 10 qualified batters hitting over .300 for the season.
 
For more on the Gators, check out their JUCO World Series team profile page.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Check out the team profile pages for the other eight teams competing in the JUCO World Series by clicking each team's respective link below:
 
Central: Barton (KS)
East Central: Walters State (TN)
Gulf: Chipola (FL)
Northern: Iowa Western
Southeastern: Chatt. Valley (AL)
South Central: Jefferson (MO)
Southwestern: Temple (TX)
Western: Southern Idaho
 
For all information on the 2018 Alpine Bank Junior College World Series, visit their headquarters at JUCOGJ.org. The tournament begins on Saturday, May 26, with the first four contests of the tournament at Sam Suplizio Field. The double-elimination tournament will culminate on either June 1 or June 2. For the complete tournament bracket, CLICK HERE.
 
Keep up with the Mustangs' adventures in Grand Junction by following them on social media:
Facebook: Monroe College Athletics
Twitter: @Monroe_Mustangs
Instagram: @monroemustangs
Baseball Twitter: @MC_MustangsBASE
 
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).