NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., April 18, 2021 – Roman Dorosh was one batter away from a no-hitter, settling for a one-hitter in a Game 1 victory as part of the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team's sweep of ASA Brooklyn Sunday afternoon at Dick Caswell Field. Monroe defeated the Avengers, 9-1, in six innings in the opener, before a 12-9 win to close the day. The Mustangs improve to 23-2-1 overall with the wins.
 
Game 1: Monroe 9, ASA 1 (6 INN)
The Mustangs got off to a quick start in Game 1. Leivin Rodriguez drew a walk with one away in the top of the first. A wild pitch moved him to second, and then he stole third with two outs. Anthony Fontana then singled him in with a line drive up the middle, giving Monroe a 1-0 edge. Jared Paladino drew a walk, and then Dante Paolucci beat out an infield single to load the bases. Another walk by Miguel Toribio brought in Fontana to push the lead to two. A balk then brought Paladino in to make it a 3-0 game.
 
The Avengers got one back in the top of the second. After loading the bases with two walks and a batter reaching after a dropped third strike, a passed ball scored Esteban Perez to bring the score to 3-1.
 
After a three inning drought, the Mustangs got back on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Salix Felix hit a one-out single into left, and then Anthony Fontana walked. A passed ball then put both runners in scoring position, and a ground out to second by Paladino was enough to score Felix from third and make it a 4-1 score. Paolucci then dropped a double into left-center to bring in Fontana, and after getting caught in a rundown between second and third, the ball was thrown away, allowing him to score as well, putting the Mustangs up, 6-1. Toribio walked, then moved to second on wild pitch. John Garcia then drove him in with a single to right-center, pushing the lead to 7-1.
 
Rodriguez walked with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Felix then drew a base-on-balls of his own. Paladino drew the Mustangs' third walk of the inning with two outs, and then Paolucci singled to right, bringing in two runs to walk it off via run-rule at 9-1.
 
Roman Dorosh was one batter away from Monroe's second no-hitter of the season after giving up a hit to the last batter of the top of the sixth. He tossed all six innings, allowing just one hit, no earned runs, and struck out seven batters to improve to 5-0 on the season. Baez took the loss for the Avengers.
 
Paolucci went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a run and a double in the win. Fontana finished 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Felix scored twice after hitting 1-for-3. Garcia batted 1-for-2 with an RBI.
 
Game 2: Monroe 12, ASA 9
ASA opened up Game 2 with back-to-back singles, and then back-to-back walks brought in the first run of the game. An RBI single by Santiago Vega then made it 2-0. Alex Sierra then doubled down the line in right, scoring two more runs to give the Avengers a 4-0 advantage.
 
Fontana cut the deficit in half with one swing in the home half of the first. With Felix on first and two away, Fontana launched a frozen rope over the right-field fence for a two-run homer, making it a 4-2 ballgame after one.
 
The Avengers quickly added a run in the top of the second. With Ivan Santos on first, Eusebio Dilone doubled down the left-field line, bringing Santos in for a 5-2 lead.
 
The Mustangs responded in a big way in the home half of the second. Joshua Lopez kicked things off with a double to left-center, and then Pedro Mota drew a walk. Richard Vasquez then ripped a triple to right-center, bringing in both runners to make it a one-run game. Vasquez then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 5-5. Three of the next four batters walked to load the bases with one out. A passed ball brought in Nathaniel Alvarez, and then a pair of wild pitches scored Joan Sosa and Felix to leave the Mustangs on top, 8-5.
 
Felix hit a one-out, ground-rule double to center in the bottom of the fourth. He moved to third on a wild pitch, then came home on another, pushing Monroe's lead to 9-5.
 
The Avengers loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the fifth. Jose Lojo singled to left-center, bringing in a run to make it a three-run game. Luis Cordero then drew a walk to bring in another run to bring the score to 9-7. A walk with two outs brought in yet another run for the Avengers to get the visitors within one.
 
Sosa hit a one-out single into left in the bottom of the fifth, and then Daniel Palermo ripped a line-drive single down the right-field line to put runners on the corners. Palermo then stole second, and the catcher tried to pick Sosa off at third, but he threw it away, allowing Sosa to score and Palermo to go to third, putting the Mustangs up, 10-8.
 
The Avengers had runners on the corners in the top of the sixth when a fielder's choice to second was dropped at the bag, letting a run score to once again make it a one-run game.
 
Pedro Mota hit a one-out double into left field in the bottom of the sixth, and then Vasquez followed with a double of his own to left to bring him in and make it an 11-9 game. He was later brought in on a sacrifice fly to center by Alvarez to push the lead to 12-9.
 
Albert Cuello gets the win in relief for Monroe after tossing two innings and allowing one run with two strikeouts. Adrian Batista came on in the seventh and picked up his second save of the year. Polo took the loss for ASA after giving up nine runs (eight earned) in 3.1 frames.
 
Vasquez knocked in three runs and scored twice himself after hitting 2-for-4 with a triple and a double in the win. Fontana went 1-for-1 with two RBIs, a run, a solo homer and three walks. Felix scored three times and hit a double in a 1-for-2 outing. Palermo finished 2-for-5 with a double, while Sosa hit 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Alvarez went 1-for-2 with a run, an RBI and a double.
 
The Mustangs' schedule this coming week will be adjusted on Monday. Please check MonroeCollegeMustangs.com and Monroe Mustangs social media for updates.
 
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).