EUNICE, La., February 13, 2022 – The Monroe College Mustangs baseball team dropped the four-game series finale at Div. II No. 1 LSU Eunice on Sunday by a score of 17-6 at Bengal Stadium. The Mustangs fall to 1-3 with the loss, while the Bengals improve to 9-1.
 
With two outs and an 0-2 count in the top of the first, Salix Felix slammed a solo homer to left, his second of the season and in as many games, to put the Mustangs up, 1-0, early in the contest.
 
Unfortunately, the lead did not stand for long for Monroe. Kole Myers tripled with one away in the home half of the first. Peyton LeJeune then grounded out to second, bringing in Myers to tie the game at a run apiece.
 
The Bengals jumped into the lead in the bottom of the second. An error put Michael Fontenot on first, and then Darian Richard singled. Beau Kirsch was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Reed Eason then singled with one out to bring in Fontenot and put the home team on top. Carter Quinn followed with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Richard to make it a 3-1 game. Myers then doubled to left-center, bringing in both runners to push LSUE's lead to 5-1.
 
Two runners reached for the Bengals via hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the third. After a wild pitch moved both runners up, a passed ball brought in Cade Hart, and then a single by Kirsch scored Richard to make it a 7-1 game. After a couple singles loaded the bases, a sacrifice fly by Quinn to left plated Kirsch to push the home team's lead to seven.
 
LeJeune led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, and then moved to second on a passed ball. He reached third after Hart grounded out, and then scored on a dropped third strike on a Fontenot strikeout, making it a 9-1 lead for LSUE.
 
The Bengals had runners on second and third with one out in the fifth when Quinn hit another sacrifice fly to make it a 10-1 game. A wild pitch brought in another run, and then Myers reached on a single. LeJeune then hit a two-run homer to right, putting the Bengals up, 13-1.
 
Jaison Andujar and Luis Villalba both walked with one away in the top of the sixth for Monroe. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, and then a grounder by Miguel Toribio brought in Andujar, and a wild throw allowed Villalba to score, making it a 13-3 score. Pedro Crespo was then hit by a pitch, Nathaniel Alvarez walked, and then Kristopher Salinas reached on another error that brought in Toribio. A wild pitch then allowed Crespo to score and bring the score to 13-5.
 
Fontenot led off the home half of the sixth for LSUE with a solo homer to left, pushing the Bengals' lead to 14-5. With Richard on third, a wild pitch brought him in to make it a 10-run game. A groundout by Brandon Mooney plated Kirsch, and then a groundout by Quinn brought in one more run to make it a 17-5 game.
 
Luis Tejada singled up the middle to lead off the seventh for Monroe. Villalba then singled to left, moving Tejada to third. A wild pitch then brought in Tejada to make it a 17-6 ballgame.
 
Roman Dorosh took the loss for the Mustangs after yielding four earned runs in three frames.
 
Felix hit 1-for-3 with a solo homer in the game. Salinas finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Villalba went 1-for-2 with a run, while Andujar batted 1-for-3 with a run scored. Tejada scored once as well in a 1-for-4 outing.
 
The Mustangs will take Monday off before continuing their road trip down south. They will visit Alvin Community College on Tuesday, Feb. 15, for a 1 p.m. first pitch. They then wrap up the week with a four-game series at No. 3 San Jacinto College beginning on Friday.
 
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