FLORENCE, S.C., May 15, 2021 – The Monroe College Mustangs baseball team's bid for a third-straight trip to the Junior College World Series came to an unfortunate end on Saturday, as the Mustangs were defeated by No. 8-ranked Florence-Darlington Technical College on Saturday at Dailey Field by a score of 13-1. The Stingers win the East District Championship series, 2-0, and claim the East District's automatic bid to the 2021 JUCO World Series.
 
Much like Friday's series opener, the Stingers jumped out to a big lead early in the game. An error allowed a run to score in the bottom of the first to give the home team a 1-0 edge. Florence-Darlington then put up seven runs in the second, including a grand slam by JT Marr, to take an 8-0 advantage. A three-run third made it an 11-0 game, and another run in the fifth gave the Stingers a 12-0 lead.
 
Jose Martinez hit a one-out single in the top of the sixth, and then Joan Sosa doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Salix Felix drew a walk to load the bases, and then Anthony Fontana brought in Martinez on a ground out to third, scoring Monroe's lone run for the day. The Stingers picked up one more run in the seventh to make it 13-1.
 
Nicholas Feretic suffered his only loss of the season in Saturday's game, dropping to 6-1. Hunter Parks claimed the win for Florence-Darlington to improve to 6-0 on the year.
 
John Garcia went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles in Saturday's contest, while Sosa batted 2-for-4 with a double of his own. Daniel Palermo hit 1-for-3. Fontana finished 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Paladino also went 1-for-4. Martinez batted 1-for-5 with a run scored.
 
Saturday's loss marks the end of the season for the Mustangs. A challenging season concludes with a 33-7-1 overall record and arguably the greatest offensive season in the program's history. Monroe will come back in 2022 looking forward to a full season and a chance to get back 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).