EUNICE, La., February 11, 2022 – After skipping the trip due to travel restrictions a year ago, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team returned to its annual trip down south to open the season this year. The Mustangs got the trip, and season, started on Friday at defending NJCAA Div. I Champion, and Div. II No. 1-ranked LSU Eunice. The Bengals came out on top in a high-scoring contest, 11-6. LSU Eunice improves to 7-0 on the season, while the Mustangs start 0-1.
 
The season got off to a hot start in the top of the first. In his first at-bat as a Mustang, Andres Castro turned on an inside pitch and sent it down the left-field line and off the foul pole for a one-out solo homer, leaving the Mustangs up, 1-0, after a half inning.
 
Kole Myers led off the home half of the first for the Bengals with a single up the middle. He then moved up to second on a passed ball. Peyton LeJeune then brought him in with a single into left, tying the game at 1-1. The Bengals had runners on second and third with one away when a grounder up the middle to pitcher Andrelis Payampas took a little too much time to make a play at home, resulting in LeJeune coming in to score and give the Bengals a 2-1 lead.
 
The home team put together another rally in the bottom of the third. The Bengals had runners on second and third when a short grounder was misplayed, bringing in two runs for the Bengals to put them up by three. One more run scored on a passed ball later in the frame to leave LSU Eunice up, 5-1.
 
The pitching picked up on both sides for the next couple innings, keeping both teams off the board in the fourth and fifth. The Mustangs changed that in the top of the sixth to get back in the game. Salix Felix singled into left to get things going for Monroe. Dante Paolucci then reached on an error, and Christian Aliberti followed with a walk to load the bases with nobody out. With one out, Angel De La Cruz grounded out to short, but brought in Felix for the Mustangs' second run of the night. Jaison Andujar drew a walk to load the bases again, and then another base-on-balls by Daniel Palermo plated Paolucci to make it a two-run game. Nathaniel Alvarez then delivered the game-tying hit with a two-RBI single up the middle, bringing in Aliberti and Andujar to tie the game at 5-5.
 
Carter Quinn was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth for LSU Eunice. He then stole second to get into scoring position. LeJeune singled him in with a grounder into right to put the Bengals back in the lead. Grant Fontenot later doubled in LeJeune, making it a 7-5 lead for the Bengals.
 
The Mustangs were able to keep things going at the dish in the seventh. Felix walked to open the frame, and then Paolucci doubled to center to put both runners in scoring position. Pedro Crespo walked with one away, and then De La Cruz brought in Felix with a groundout to make it a 7-6 ballgame, but the Bengals managed to limit the damage after that to hang onto the lead.
 
An error to start the bottom of the seventh got things started for the Bengals. With two outs and a runner on second, LeJeune came through once again for LSU Eunice with a double to left, plating Beau Kirsch to make it an 8-6 ballgame.
 
With a runner on second, the Bengals brought in another run when Reed Eason reached on an error to put the home team up by three. Kirsch then tripled to left to plate Eason to make it 10-6. Quinn reached on an error after that, bringing in Kirsch to push the score to 11-6.
 
LSU Eunice's Miles Clack picked up the win despite going just 0.1 innings with what was, at the time, the tying run, as the Bengals took the lead back for good with Clack still in the game. Claudio Rodriguez shouldered the loss for Monroe after yielding two runs in 1.1 frames with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Castro finished 2-for-5 with his first-inning solo home run. Felix batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Paolucci hit 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Alvarez knocked in two runs in a 1-for-4 outing, while De La Cruz finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs of his own.
 
The Mustangs and Bengals will continue their four-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 12. Game 1 of the twinbill is set to begin at 2 p.m. EST.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 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 and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 14 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). Read Full Article