VINELAND, N.J., March 27, 2019 – The Monroe College Mustangs baseball team fell in a 9-6 game at Cumberland County College Wednesday afternoon. The Mustangs drop to 11-17 with the loss, while the Dukes improve to 20-2 on the year.
 
The Mustangs fell behind early when Cumberland's Ryan McIsaac hit a solo homer to left, giving the home team an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
 
Freddy Rojas Jr. hit a one-out single in the top of the second. He then stole second, and was then knocked in on an RBI double to center by Neifi Mercedes, tying the game at 1-1. Joe Rosselli followed with a single up the middle, plating Mercedes to give Monroe a 2-1 lead.
 
The Mustangs padded their lead in the top of the third. Gustavo Gonzalez led off with a walk, and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Daniel Alfonzo flew out to center, but Gonzalez was able to tag up to third on the play. Adner Mercado then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Gonzalez to make it a 3-1 game.
 
The Dukes were able to get one back in the bottom of the third. Cumberland put runners on the corners with two outs, allowing Nicholas Milhan to single in McIsaac and make it a 3-2 ballgame after three.
 
The home team played some small ball to tie the game up in the fourth. Tyler Knox led off with a walk, and Matt Spaeth hit a one-out single, advancing to second on the play while Knox took third. A wild pitch then scored Knox from third, tying the game at 3-3 after four frames.
 
The Dukes took their second lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Dylan Scaranda led off with a single, and then Vincent Napolitano singled into left to put runners on the corners. A balk then brought in a run and put the Dukes on top, 4-3. Donnie Stone later grounded into a double play with runners on first and third, bringing in a run to make it a 5-3 game.
 
The Dukes got yet another run in the bottom of the sixth. With one on and two outs, McIsaac hit a single into left, scoring Ja'Ques Colon to push the home team's lead to 6-3.
 
The Mustangs chipped away at the deficit in the top of the seventh stanza. Manrique Mora hit a one-out single, then moved all the way over to third on a pair of wild pitches. Gonzalez knocked him in with a two-out single to center, making it a 6-4 ballgame.
 
Monroe once again found its way onto the scoreboard in the eighth, but could not tie the game in that frame. Mercedes hit a one-out single, and eventually moved to second on a wild pitch with two outs. Iasid Bernal then singled up the middle to score Mercedes from second and get the Mustangs back within a run.
 
Two runners were on base in the home half of the eighth when Colon singled into left and knocked in Knox to make it a two-run game once again. Two batters later, Scaranda hit a two-RBI single to left, pushing the Dukes' lead to 9-5.
 
Jose Martinez kicked off the comeback attempt in the ninth with a leadoff double to left. Gonzalez was then hit by a pitch, and then Alfonzo drew a walk to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Adner Mercado fouled out to third for the first out of the inning, but Rojas managed to bring in a run with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Martinez to get the Mustangs back within three. Rosselli was then unfortunately unable to keep the inning going with a ground out to second, leaving the Mustangs three runs shy of tying the game.
 
Joseph Nestel got the win for the Dukes with 3.2 innings of work in relief, improving to 2-0 overall on the season. Widiel Soto took the loss for the Mustangs to fall to 1-2.
 
Mercedes finished 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI in the game. Rojas and Gonzalez each batted 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Mora went 2-for-3, scoring a run in the game. Martinez hit a double and scored a run in a 1-for-4 outing, while Bernal also went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
 
The Mustangs will look to bounce back on Saturday, March 30, when they visit Mercer County Community College in West Windsor Township, N.J. for a doubleheader with the Vikings. Game 1 is scheduled to begin at 12 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).