FLORENCE, S.C., May 14, 2021 – After getting through the Region 20 Championship Tournament unscathed last weekend, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team will have to take the challenging route to Grand Junction if they want to return to the JUCO World Series, as the Mustangs fell in the East District Championship Series opener to No. 8-ranked Florence-Darlington Technical College by a score of 12-5 Friday afternoon at Dailey Field. The Mustangs are now one win away from elimination, and need to win two straight to claim the district title.
 
The Stingers jumped on the Mustangs right from the start, as they batted as the away team on their home field. JT Marr led off the game with a single, then Luke Wood walked. Gary Lora then got what would be a big game started with an RBI single, giving the Stingers a quick 1-0 lead.
 
Andre Demetral was on second with two outs in the second after a walk and a stolen base. DJ Sullivan then hit a two-run homer to center, pushing Florence-Darlington's lead to 3-0.
 
Sullivan struck again with two on and nobody out in the fourth, hitting a two-RBI double to make it a 5-0 game. He was sacrificed over to third by Marr, and then brought in on a sacrifice fly by Wood to push the lead to six. Lora then homered to left to leave the Stingers on top, 7-0.
 
Lora pushed the lead to nine for the Stingers in the top of the sixth when he hit a two-run homer to left, his second of the day.
 
The Mustangs fought back in the bottom of the sixth. Jose Martinez walked to lead off the frame. Joan Sosa then singled to center, and the ball got away from the centerfielder, allowing Martinez to score and Sosa to end up on third, making it a 9-1 score. Salix Felix drew a walk, and then Anthony Fontana singled into right to score Sosa and make it a 9-2 game. Jared Paladino then brought in Felix on a ground out to third to make it 9-3, and Dante Paolucci followed with a single into right to bring in Fontana and leave the Mustangs trailing, 9-4.
 
Florence-Darlington got one back in the top of the seventh. With a runner on third, Trey Yates hit an RBI single to bring in the run and make it a 10-4 lead for the Stingers.
 
The Mustangs picked up their final run of the day in the bottom of the eighth. Felix led off with a walk, and then Fontana singled into right to put runners on the corners. Paladino brought in Felix with a sacrifice fly to left, leaving the Mustangs down by five, 10-5.
 
The Stingers scored two more runs on a pair of Mustang errors in the top of the ninth, leading to the eventual final score of 12-5.
 
Nathan Williams went five-plus innings for the Stingers, allowing three runs on one hit and five walks to pick up the win and improve to 8-2 on the year. Olvis Genao allowed seven runs across four frames to shoulder the loss for Monroe and drop to 4-2 on the season.
 
Fontana finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run in the game for Monroe. Paolucci hit 1-for-3 with an RBI. Sosa batted 1-for-5 with a run scored. Paladino finished 0-for-3, but brought in two RBIs for the Mustangs. John Garcia went 0-for-2, but walked twice and stole a base.
 
Game 2 in the best-of-three East District Championship Series is set for Saturdya, May 15, beginning at 1 p.m. The Mustangs must win to force the rubber match on Sunday for the district title, while a win for Florence-Darlington would award the Region 10 Champions the automatic bid to the JUCO World Series.
 
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).