EUNICE, La., February 23, 2020 – In the final game of a six-game week down south, and a three-game series at NJCAA Div. II No. 1 LSU-Eunice, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team dropped a 6-2 decision to the Bengals at Bengal Field. The Mustangs drop to 2-4 overall, while the Bengals remain unbeaten at 12-0.
 
The Mustangs grabbed the first lead in Sunday's series finale. Joe Rosselli led off the top of the third with a single into right-center. Dante Paolucci walked, and then John Garcia beat out a bunt to third to load the bases. With one out, Jared Paladino was hit by a pitch, bringing in Rosselli for the first run of the game. Leivin Rodriguez then hit a sacrifice fly to center, plating Paolucci to put the Mustangs up, 2-0.
 
The lead stuck until the home team rallied in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on the corners, Peyton LeJeune hit a sacrifice fly to center, bringing in Hunter Tabb to cut the deficit in half. Jack Merrifield later hit a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to put the Bengals on top. Scott Jones then pulled off a suicide squeeze to bring in one more run and put home team ahead, 4-2.
 
LSU-Eunice had the bases loaded again in the sixth, and a wild pitch brought in Tabb from third to make it a 5-2 game. The Bengals picked up one more run in the eighth when Ayden Makarus hit a solo homer to left-center to bring the score to 6-2.
 
Olvis Genao had a strong first four innings for the Mustangs, but he allowed three runs (two earned) in the fifth to shoulder the loss. He allowed four hits and struck out four batters in 4.1 innings of work. Jake Hammond got the win for the Bengals after tossing five innings in relief.
 
Paolucci finished 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored in the game. Christian Hernandez also hit a double while going 1-for-4, and Joseph Caba added another two-bagger while finishing 1-for-3. Rosselli scored a run after batting 1-for-4. Garcia went 1-for-3 as well in the game.
 
The Mustangs will come back to New Rochelle for a few days before taking another trip, this time down to Florence, S.C. for four games in the Stinger Invitational, hosted by Florence-Darlington Technical College over the weekend. The Mustangs will play Potomac State College of WVU and Florence-Darlington back-to-back on both Saturday and Sunday. First pitch of Game 1 (Potomac State) each day is set for 12:30 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).