NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., March 26, 2019 – On a chilly evening in New Rochelle, the Mustangs' bats were still able to catch fire, as the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team rolled to a 10-0 run-rule victory over Rockland Community College Tuesday night at Dick Caswell Field. The Mustangs improve to 11-16 on the season with the win, while the Hawks drop to 5-6.
 
Jose Martinez led off the first for Monroe with a walk. He then stole second and moved to third when the ball went into center field. Gustavo Gonzalez then singled into left, scoring Martinez to quickly put the Mustangs up, 1-0. Two batters later with runners on the corners, Joseph Encarnacion hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Gonzalez to push the lead to two. Freddy Rojas Jr. then singled to right, and he and Daniel Alfonzo both moved up later on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch then scored Alfonzo to make it a 3-0 game. Joe Rosselli and Iasid Bernal then hit back-to-back triples to leave the Mustangs up, 5-0, after one.
 
Gonzalez drew a walk to start the fourth for the Mustangs. He found his way over to third, and then Alfonzo drew a walk of his own. A wild pitch then brought in Gonzalez to make it a 6-0 game. Encarnacion then launched an RBI ground-rule double to center to score Alfonzo to put the Mustangs up by seven. Rosselli later smacked his second triple of the game straight down the left-field line to make it an 8-0 game. Bernal then skied a high fly ball to left that was dropped by the left fielder, scoring Rosselli to leave Monroe up, 9-0.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Leandy Castro slammed a pinch-hit double to deep center with one away. Neifi Mercedes followed with a double to deep left, scoring Castro to end the game with a walkoff run-rule victory.
 
Ricky Otero was terrific in the start for the Mustangs, tossing five shutout innings and striking out eight batters to improve to 0-1 on the year. Elvin Ramos pitched the sixth for Monroe and struck out the side without giving up a hit. Rockland starter Colton Stemkowski took the loss, falling to 1-1.
 
Rosselli went 2-for-3 with a pair of triples, a pair of RBIs and a pair of runs scored in the win on Tuesday. Gonzalez also went 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a pair of stolen bases. Encarnacion knocked in two runs and scored another after hitting 2-for-3 with a double. Alfonzo scored twice and finished 1-for-2. Bernal batted 1-for-2 with an RBI triple.
 
The Mustangs get back to work quickly, as they visit Cumberland County College on Wednesday, March 27, in Vineland, N.J. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus as of the fall of 2017, has nine varsity and junior varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
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).