HAGERSTOWN, Md., May 9, 2021 – Playing in the Region 20 Championship Tournament for the first time ever, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team went a perfect 3-0 at Hagerstown Municipal Stadium, capping off the weekend with 15-8 victory over No. 4-seeded Harford Community College on Sunday to win its first-ever Region 20 Championship. The Mustangs now advance to the East District Championship, which will be hosted by No. 8-ranked Florence-Darlington Technical College, after the Stingers' victory in the Region 10 Championship Tournament.
 
The Mustangs got on the board early this time around. Jose Martinez led off the bottom of the first with an infield single toward short. He then stole second, and an errant throw allowed him to move over to third. Joan Sosa drew a walk, and later in the frame with two outs, Jared Paladino singled into left, plating Martinez to put the Mustangs on top, 1-0.
 
Miguel Toribio got the second started with a double into the right-center gap. John Garcia was then hit by a pitch, and then Nathaniel Alvarez beat out a bunt toward third to load the bases. Martinez then hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Toribio for a 2-0 lead. Sosa then drew his second walk of the day to load the bases again, and then Salix Felix doubled to left, scoring two more runs for a 4-0 lead. Anthony Fontana then singled into left, plating another two runs to push the lead to six. Two batters later, Dante Paolucci brought in a run on a fielder's choice, but was then tagged out rounding first to end the inning, leaving the Mustangs ahead, 7-0.
 
Harford began to chip away at the deficit in the top of the third. With two on and two outs, Braydan Parr doubled to left-center, bringing in both runners to make it a 7-2 ballgame.
 
The Mustangs managed to score with two outs themselves in the bottom of the third. Alvarez kept the inning alive with a walk, and then Martinez ripped a triple down the line in left to bring him in and make it an 8-2 Mustang lead.
 
Harford put together another rally in the top of the fourth, once again doing so with two outs. Ajay Sczepkowski singled to keep the inning going, and then Blake Mayberry hit a single of his own. Andrew Sicinski then doubled in both runners to make it a four-run game. Two batters later, Reyce Curnane singled in one more run, cutting Monroe's lead down to 8-5.
 
Felix extended Monroe's lead with one swing in the bottom of the fourth, hitting a leadoff solo homer to left, his record 14th of the season, to make it a 9-5 score in favor of the Mustangs.
 
The lead grew again for Monroe in the home half of the fifth. Garcia walked with one out, and then a pickoff attempt at first got away, moving him all the way to third. Alvarez then singled him in to bring Monroe's lead to 10-5.
 
Paladino walked to lead off the sixth for Monroe, and Toribio drew a base-on-balls of his own with one away. With two down, Alvarez also drew a walk to load the bases. Martinez came through again with a two-RBI double to left, pushing Monroe's lead to seven. Sosa followed with a two-RBI double of his own to right field, leaving the Mustangs ahead of the Fighting Owls, 14-5, heading to the seventh.
 
Toribio led off the eighth with a double to right, and then Garcia drew a walk. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position with one out, and then Martinez brought in Toribio on a sacrifice fly to left, making it a 10-run lead for the Mustangs heading to the ninth.
 
Curnane opened the ninth with a solo homer to center for the Fighting Owls to cut the deficit to 15-6. Mason Hicks was then hit by a pitch, and then an errant throw on a pickoff attempt moved him all the way to third with nobody out. Harford had runners on the corners with one away when Joe Quelch reached on a fielder's choice, bringing in Hicks to make it a 15-7 game with two outs. Sczepkowski and Mayberry then hit back-to-back singles to bring in another run to make it 15-8. After a walk that loaded the bases, Parr flew out to center, ending the game and awarding the Mustangs their first-ever Region 20 Championship.
 
Colm O'Shea picks up the win in relief for the Mustangs after tossing two scoreless innings to improve to 3-0 on the season. Anthony Vargas also pitched a scoreless seventh. Zane Grimes took the loss for Harford after yielding five runs in 1.1 frames to fall to 1-3.
 
After a quiet start to his weekend, Martinez made up for lost time in this going, going a perfect 4-for-4 with six RBIs, two runs scored, two doubles, a triple and a stolen base in the championship victory. Felix hit 2-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs, a double and his 14th home run of the season. Toribio swatted two doubles, finishing 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Alvarez went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, an RBI and two walks. Sosa hit 1-for-4 with a two RBI double and a run scored, while Paladino scored once and knocked in a run in a 1-for-4 outing. Fontana batted 1-for-5, but knocked in two runs and scored another himself.
 
The two-time defending East District Champions will get a chance to make it three straight District Titles when the Mustangs visit No. 8 Florence-Darlington for the 2021 East District Championship. A best-of-three series is set to take place from May 14-16 to determine the district's representative at the 2021 Junior College 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).