NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., May 2, 2019 – For the fifth straight season, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team has claimed the NJCAA Region XV Division I Championship, as the Mustangs claimed a series sweep of ASA College with a pair of victories in Games 2 and 3 on Thursday at Dick Caswell Field. As Region XV Champions, the Mustangs will once again represent the region at the 2019 NJCAA Div. I Eastern District Championship, to be hosted next weekend by the Region XX Champion.
 
The Mustangs swept the best-of-five series with the Avengers after picking up two more wins in Thursday's doubleheader. Monroe came back to win in Game 2 by a score of 7-4, and then earned a 10-4 victory in Game 3 of the series to clinch the region title.
 
The 2019 Eastern District Championship tournament will be hosted by this year's Region XX Champion, which will be determined at this weekend's Region XX Championship Tournament, hosted by Potomac State College at WVU. The winner of the Eastern District Championship will then advance to the 2019 Junior College World Series.
 
GAME 2: MONROE 7, ASA 4
Gustavo Gonzalez took the first pitch of the bottom of the first deep down the left-field line and just over the fence for a leadoff solo homer to give Monroe an immediate 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Daniel Alfonzo smoked a ground-rule double to center. Leandy Castro immediately followed with a single up the middle, scoring Alfonzo to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Richard DiMartino sent a triple into the right-center gap to lead off the top of the second for the Avengers. Jose Mejia Jr. then reached on a dropped pop up, putting runners on the corners. Henry Bernard then singled into right, scoring DiMartino to cut the deficit in half. Two batters later, a passed ball allowed another run to score, tying the game at 2-2.
 
DiMartino reached on a single with two outs in the third. After moving to second on a balk, Mejia knocked him in with a single to right, pushing the Avengers ahead, 3-2.
 
Alfonzo hit his second double of the day with one out in the bottom of the third. A wild pitch then put him on third, and an infield single by Neifi Mercedes with two away brought him in to score and tie the game at 3-3.
 
Ernefi De Leon was hit by a pitch with two down in the top of the fifth for ASA. Sammy Cuevas then singled to left-center, and a throw to third got away from Mercedes, allowing De Leon to score and give the Avengers a 4-3 edge.
 
The Mustangs were not down for long, as they rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Joe Rosselli dropped a bloop double down the left-field line. Gonzalez then drew a walk, and Freddy Rojas Jr. launched a double to deep left field, plating both runners to put the Mustangs ahead, 5-4. Alfonzo was hit by a pitch, then Castro drew a walk to load the bases. Joseph Encarnacion then ripped a single into left, bringing two more runs home to push the lead to 7-4.
 
Brandon Backman was resilient in the start, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing just two earned runs with six strikeouts to pick up the win and improve to 7-2. Nathan Presbot then closed out the final 2.1 frames, allowing just three hits and no runs to earn his third save. Mauricio Mendez took the loss for ASA to fall to 1-2.
 
Rojas finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a run, and two doubles, including what proved to be the game-winning RBI double. Alfonzo also hit two doubles and scored three times in a 2-for-3 outing. Gonzalez batted 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI and two runs scored. Encarnacion hit 1-for-3 with a two-RBI single. Rosselli went 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
 
GAME 2: MONROE 10, ASA 4
The Avengers struck first in Game 2, starting off the game with a leadoff double by Jose Santana. Santana took third on a passed ball, and Rohandry Javier drew a walk to put runners on the corners. A double steal attempt saw Javier get thrown out at second, but Santana narrowly avoided the tag at home, giving the Avengers a 1-0 lead in the first.
 
Encarnacion led off the second with a walk for the Mustangs. A passed ball moved him to second, and a ground out to short by Iasid Bernal moved him to third. With two outs, a wild pitch brought Encarnacion in to score, tying the game at 1-1.
 
Mercedes led off the third with a bunt single, and was then sacrificed over to second by Gonzalez. Rojas ripped a single into left, but Mercedes was thrown out at the plate. With Rojas now on second, Alfonzo singled to center, bringing Rojas home to put the Mustangs on top, 2-1.
 
Encarnacion drew another walk to lead off the fourth for Monroe. Bernal then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move him to second. Two batters later, Rosselli doubled down the right-field line, scoring Encarnacion to make it a 3-1 game. Mercedes followed with a line-drive triple into the right-center gap, scoring Rosselli to give the Mustangs a 4-1 advantage.
 
Stephon Montiel was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth for ASA. Ezequiel Santana then singled to center, and both runners were moved into scoring position on Jose Santana's sacrifice bunt. Javier then hit a sacrifice fly to center, making it a 4-2 game.
 
As had been the trend, Gonzalez led off the fifth with a walk. Rojas followed with another base-on-balls, and then a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. Castro came through with a sacrifice fly, bringing in Gonzalez to push the lead to 5-2. A wild pitch then brought in Rojas, leaving the Mustangs on top, 6-2.
 
Jose Martinez struck out to lead off the sixth, but a passed ball on strike three allowed him to reach first. Rosselli drew a walk, and Mercedes reached on a dropped line drive by the third baseman to load the bases. With two outs, Rojas blasted a grand slam over the fence in right-center, running the lead up to 10-2 for the Mustangs.
 
The first two runners reached base for the Avengers in the seventh on a hit-by-pitch and an error. Jose Santana then hit an RBI single to score Montiel and make it a 10-3 game. Javier then hit his second sacrifice fly of the day, bringing in Ezequiel Santana to get the Avengers back within six.
 
Oda earned his second win of the season against the Avengers with a seven-inning outing in Game 3 of the Region XV Championship Series. He allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out six batters to improve to 2-1 on the year. Cuevas took the loss for the Avengers to fall to 2-2.
 
Rojas' big day grew even bigger in Game 2, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs, three runs scored and a grand slam. Mercedes batted 2-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a triple in the win. Rosselli finished 1-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a double. Gonzalez scored a run after going 1-for-3, while Alfonzo finished 1-for-4 with an RBI.
 
With the Region XV Title in hand, the Mustangs will now sit back and watch as their Eastern District Championship destination and opponents are determined in the Region XX Championship and Region X Championship tournaments over the weekend. The four-team field will be set after the respective tournaments, with the Mustangs joining the top two teams from Region XX and the Region X Champion.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 30 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 11 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).