DUNMORE, Pa., March 20, 2021 – In its first doubleheader action of the season, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team split Saturday's contests against Lackawanna College at Schautz Stadium. Lackawanna took Game 1, 7-3, but the Mustangs bounced back to win the closer, 12-5. The Mustangs leave Pennsylvania with a 3-1 record on the early season.
 
GAME 1: Lackawanna 7, Monroe 3
After a quiet first two frames, the Mustang got on the board first in the top of the third. With one out, Richard Vasquez smashed his first home run of the year, putting the Mustangs on top, 1-0.
 
The Falcons turned things right back around in the home half of the third. After a trio of walks loaded the bases, German Vasquez hit a bases-clearing double, leaving Lackawanna ahead, 3-1, after three.
 
The Mustangs fell into a deeper hole in the bottom of the fourth when Raymond Vorhees hit a three-run homer, pushing the home team's lead to 6-1.
 
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Joan Sosa kept the inning alive with a single. Miguel Toribio then brought him in on a triple, getting Monroe back within four at 6-2.
 
Three walks loaded the bases for the Falcons in the bottom of the fifth, and then Vasquez drew one more walk to bring in the Falcons' seventh run to put them back up by five.
 
Monroe tried to get back in the game in the top of the seventh when Angel De La Cruz homered to make it a four-run game, but that was all they could produce in the final frame, dropping the opening game.
 
Jason Diaz shouldered the loss in Game 1, yielding six runs across 3.2 frames to drop to 0-1 to start the year. Lackawanna's Zachary Klapak picked up the win after going six innings and allowing two runs to improve to 1-1.
 
The Mustangs had six extra-base hits in the Game 1 loss. De La Cruz and Vasquez each homered, while Sosa, Toribio and Dante Paolucci all tripled. Salix Felix added a double.
 
GAME 2: Monroe 12, Lackawanna 5
The top of the first changed the day's momentum, as Kristopher Salinas led off the game with a solo homer to give Monroe a quick 1-0 advantage.
 
The one-run lead remained until the Mustangs rallied again in the top of the third. Leivin Rodriguez stood on second when Pedro Mota blasted a two-run homer to push the lead to three. Jared Paladino followed with a double, and standing on third later in the frame, he scored on a dropped third strike to give Monroe a 4-0 edge.
 
Monroe's lead was cut in half in the bottom of the fourth. With two runners on, Quinn Hanafin brought in both runs for the Falcons with a double, leaving the Mustangs ahead, 4-2.
 
The Mustangs quickly erased Lackawanna's runs in the top of the fifth. Rodriguez led off with a single, then Felix doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Mota came through again with an RBI single to make it a 5-2 score. With Felix on third and one away, Nathaniel Alvarez grounded out to second, allowing Felix to come home and put the Mustangs back up by four.
 
The Mustangs had runners on second and third in the sixth when Mota continued his huge game with a two-RBI single, bringing in Salinas and Rodriguez to push Monroe's advantage to 8-2.
 
Lackawanna chipped away at the lead in the home half of the sixth with an RBI double and a number of walks bringing in a total of three runs in the inning to cut Monroe's lead to 8-5.
 
That was as close as the Mustangs would let the Falcons get, as Monroe put together one more rally in the seventh to put the home team away. Christopher Martinez homered with one away to add a run. John Garcia reached on an error and Salinas was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Rodriguez came through with a double, plating both runners to push the advantage to 11-5. With the bases loaded, Paladino was hit by a pitch, bringing the 12th and final run of the game across.
 
Nicholas Feretic had a strong debut for the Mustangs, tossing six frames and allowing three earned runs with 12 strikeouts to pick up his first win. Kyle Borrello dropped to 1-2 on the year for the Falcons after giving up four runs in three innings. Colm O'Shea closed it out for Monroe, striking out two batters in the seventh without allowing a baserunner.
 
Mota drove in five runs after going 3-for-4 with a double in the win. Rodriguez was a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored. Salinas scored three times after going 1-for-4 with a home run. Martinez finished 1-for-3 with his solo homer.
 
The Mustangs will continue a long road trip on Tuesday, March 23, when they visit Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y., for an afternoon doubleheader. First pitch of Game 1 is set to begin at 2 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 36 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports program, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 17 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 Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).