FLORENCE, S.C., February 26, 2022 – The Monroe College Mustangs baseball team split its final day at the Stinger Invitational, hosted by Florence-Darlington Technical College in Florence, S.C. on Saturday. The Mustangs defeated the 18th-ranked Stingers in nine innings, 7-3, before falling to the Bobcats, 6-2.
 
GAME 1: Monroe 7, #18 Florence-Darlington 3 (9 INN)
The Stingers got the early jump on the Mustangs in Game 1 on Saturday. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Noah Stout kept the inning alive with a single into right. Scott McDonough then doubled to center, bringing Stout around to score and make it a 1-0 game after one.
 
Florence-Darlington's lead held until the top of the fourth. Luis Villalba beat out an infield single to lead off the frame, and then moved to second on a groundout by Dante Paolucci. With two outs, Jaison Andujar ripped a double to right field, bringing Villalba in from second to tie the game at 1-1.
 
It took one swing in the top of the fifth to put the Mustangs ahead. Pedro Crespo took a 1-1 pitch deep over the fence in center field for a solo homer, giving Monroe a 2-1 edge.
 
Unfortunately, this lead did not last for the Mustangs. Javier Crespo led off the home half of the fifth with a single up the middle, and then Tre Williams homered to center, pushing the Stingers back into the lead, 3-2.
 
Monroe played small-ball to tie the game up in the top of the seventh of the scheduled seven-inning contest. Angel De La Cruz led off with a single to right. Andres Castro then pinch ran for De La Cruz and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kristopher Salinas sacrifice bunted to move Castro to third, and then Miguel Toribio hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Castro and make it a 3-3 ballgame. Je-andrick Lourens remained on the hill for the Mustangs in the bottom of the seventh and shut the Stingers down in order to force extra innings.
 
After a scoreless eighth, the Mustangs broke the tie in the top of the ninth. With one out, Adrian Batista came on to pinch hit and beat out a single toward third. Salinas and Toribio both walked to load the bases, and then Villalba drew the third straight walk to bring in a run and put the Mustangs ahead. A wild pitch then allowed Salinas to score and make it a 5-3 game. Paolucci followed with a single up the gut, bringing Toribio and Villalba home to leave the Mustangs on top, 7-3, a lead they held onto after three more outs to pick up the win.
 
Albert Bobadilla got the win for the Mustangs after pitching a hitless and scoreless eighth frame, improving him to 1-1 on the year. Matt Poston took the loss for the Stingers to drop to 0-3. Lourens went seven-plus innings for Monroe in the start, allowing just three runs with 11 strikeouts.
 
Paolucci knocked in two runs in a 1-for-5 effort in the win. Crespo hit 1-for-4 with a solo homer. Villalba batted 1-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Andujar brought in a run while going 1-for-4 with a double. De La Cruz hit 1-for-3, while Batista hit 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit opportunity. Toribio drew two walks and managed to score once and knock in a run on a sacrifice fly despite officially going 0-for-2. Salinas scored as well after walking twice and dropping a successful sacrifice bunt.
 
GAME 2: East Georgia State 6, Monroe 2
The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead with a three-run bottom of the first. With the bases loaded, Kennard Dawson hit a two-RBI single to left to bring in East Georgia State's first two runs. Dawson then stole second, but throw went into the outfield, allowing Elliott Vickery to score from third and make it a 3-0 game.
 
Neither team lit up the scoreboard until the Bobcats put up another three-spot in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded again, Landry Mead cleared the bases with a double to center, pushing the lead to 6-0.
 
The Mustangs tried to rally back in the game in the top of the seventh. After Nathaniel Alvarez and Luis Tejada were both hit by pitches, De La Cruz singled to left, scoring Alvarez to bring the score to 6-1. Salinas then doubled into left, plating Tejada to make it 6-2, but the rally ended there for the Mustangs.
 
Robert Quinlan went the complete seven frames for the Bobcats, allowing two runs to improve to 2-0. Pedro Duran shouldered the loss for Monroe, falling to 0-1 after yielding four earned runs in four frames with four strikeouts. Claudio Rodriguez was solid in relief with two scoreless innings.
 
Salinas and De La Cruz each went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the game, with Salinas' hit being a double. Andujar stole two bases in the game.
 
The Mustangs will play next in their home opener on Tuesday, March 1, at Dick Caswell Baseball Field in New Rochelle, when they host SUNY Ulster. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
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