HOUSTON, Texas, February 18, 2020 – In its first pair of games of the 2020 season, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team split its opening-day doubleheader in Texas, first falling to San Jacinto College, 12-5, before pulling off a huge comeback in Game 2 to grab a 10-8 victory over Alvin Community College. The Mustangs walk away from Day 1 of the new season with a 1-1 record.
 
GAME 1: SAN JACINTO 12, MONROE 5
Playing their first game of the season, the Mustangs needed to shake off some rust early in Tuesday's opener. After a two-out walk put Hunter Townsend on first for the Gators, a failed pickoff attempt moved him all the way to third. Cole Turney then hit a grounder through the right side for an RBI single, giving San Jac a quick 1-0 lead.
 
Joe Rosselli quickly closed the gap for the Mustangs in the top of the second. He sent a 3-1 pitch deep over the fence in right field for a solo home run, tying the game at 1-1.
 
The Gators quickly responded in the home half of the second. Blayne Robinson hit a leadoff solo homer over the same right-field fence, putting San Jac back on top, 2-1. Johnny Rodriguez later reached base on an error, which immediately put him on second. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on another wild pitch, giving the Gators a 3-1 lead. Later in the frame, Tyriece Silas hit into a fielder's choice to second with the bases loaded, allowing another run to come home and push San Jac's lead to 4-1. Silas then stole second, and the throw trickled into the outfield, allowing him to move to third and another runner to score, making if a four-run game.
 
Monroe chipped away at the deficit once again in the top of the third. John Garcia was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, then Leivin Rodriguez then singled through the right side. With one away, Jared Paladino ripped a single into center, bringing in Garcia to get the Mustangs within three. Emile Boies then hit a sacrifice fly to center, bringing in Rodriguez to make it a 5-3 ballgame.
 
One swing gave the Gators a big lead in the bottom of the fourth. Turney took one deep with two runners on for a three-run homer, pushing San Jac's lead to 8-3.
 
The Mustangs once again got themselves a little closer in the top of the seventh. Dante Paolucci was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, and then Leivin Rodriguez singled to right to get two runners on. Paolucci was then caught trying to take third on a pickoff attempt at first, but Jose Martinez followed with a double to left, bringing in Rodriguez to make it a four-run game. Paladino then singled to right-center, bringing in Martinez to make it an 8-5 game.
 
Back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the seventh brought in another run for the Gators. Armani Sanchez then singled with a runner on third to make it a 10-5 game. A double by Raymond Torres brought in Sanchez, then a two-bagger by Antonio Valdez plated Torres to cap off the scoring for Tuesday's opener at 12-5.
 
Francois Castillo was awarded the victory for the Gators after a scheduled three-inning start, over which he allowed three runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Anthony Vargas took the loss for Monroe after yielding five runs (two earned) on two hits across one-plus frames.
 
Paladino had an impressive debut for the Mustangs, hitting 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Martinez batted 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run. Rosselli went 1-for-3 with a solo homer.
 
GAME 2: MONROE 10, ALVIN 8
The Dolphins took advantage of a pair of Mustang miscues in the bottom of the second. Julian Rojas reached second on a dropped fly ball to lead off the inning, then moved to third on a passed ball. Jaison Andujar then drew a walk. Donavan Sanders reached on an error to third, allowing Rojas to score and make it a 1-0 game. A failed pickoff moved the runners to second and third, and a ground out by Bryce Hughes brought in Andujar to leave Alvin up, 2-0.
 
Joseph Caba immediately cut the deficit in half for Monroe in the top of the third. He swung at the first pitch he saw, sending over the fence in left field to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
 
The scoring halted until the bottom of the sixth when Alvin was able to once again take advantage of the situation handed to them. Three straight hit-by-pitches loaded the bases for the Dolphins with nobody out. Vladimir Ceverino came on to pitch with the bases loaded and nobody out, getting the batter to ground into a double play, but a run was able to come in on the play to make it a 3-1 game.
 
The Dolphins loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with two walks and a single. Efrain Gonzalez brought in a run with a single, and then an error on a bunt attempt allowed two more runs to come in. With two outs, Bryce Hughes added one more infield single, plating Alvin's fourth run of the inning to leave the home team up, 7-1.
 
Rosselli got things going in the eighth for Monroe with a leadoff walk. Joan Sosa then pinch hit and also managed to draw a walk. With one out, the pinch-hitting Joshua Lopez also drew a base-on-balls, loading the bases for the Mustangs. Nathaniel Alvarez drew the fourth walk of the inning to make it a 7-2 game. With two outs, Paladino reached on an error that cleared the bases and put him on third, getting Monroe within two. A wild pitch then scored Paladino to make it a one-run game. Emile Boies walked to get things going again, and then Christian Hernandez reached on an error. Rosselli was hit by a pitch in his second trip to the plate in the eighth, and then Sosa walked for the second time in the inning to tie the game at 7-7. Rodriguez followed with a big blow, a two-RBI double to center that gave the Mustangs a 9-7 lead.
 
A walk and a hit-by-pitch quickly put two runners on for Alvin in the home half of the eighth. Garrett Poston then singled into left, bringing in a run to cut Monroe's lead to one. The bases were loaded with one out later in the inning, but Olvis Genao managed to get the batter to ground into a double play, ending the inning with minimal damage.
 
Alvarez singled to open the ninth for Monroe, and then stole second to get into scoring position. He advanced to third on a fly out to right by Paladino, and then Boies knocked him in with a single into left, giving the Mustangs a two-run cushion at 10-8. Leivan Rodriguez then moved from the infield to the mound in the ninth, allowing just one hit but no other base runners to close out the win.
 
Genao earned his first win with Monroe in Tuesday's finale after 1.1 innings and allowing just one run while the Mustangs took the lead in the eighth. Mark Gomez took the loss for Alvin to drop to 0-1. Rodriguez earned his first save for the Mustangs with a scoreless ninth frame.
 
Though he earned a save in the win, Rodriguez was also impressive at the plate once again, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and a double. Alvarez batted 1-for-4 with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Caba hit a solo homer in a 1-for-5 effort. Hernandez hit 2-for-4 with a run and a stolen base, while Boies batted 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
 
While the schedule for the week is subject to change, Monroe is set to play next on Thursday, Feb. 20, at LSU-Alexandria in Alexandria, La. Game 1 of the doubleheader 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 31 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 Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 12 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 Mustangs), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).