BEL AIR, Md., March 29, 2022 – Facing off with its second East District foe of the season, the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team dropped a pair of close contests at Harford Community College Tuesday evening. The Fighting Owls rallied in the seventh for a walkoff 9-8 victory in Game 1, before a pitcher's duel went the way of Harford in Game 2 by a score of 3-1.
 
GAME 1: Harford 9, Monroe 8
The Mustangs did not need long to get on the board in Tuesday's opener. Pedro Crespo led off the game by getting hit by a pitch. With one out, Salix Felix singled into left, and then both runners stole a base to get both into scoring position. Dante Paolucci then grounded out to second, but it was enough to bring in Crespo and give the Mustangs a quick 1-0 edge.
 
Unfortunately, Monroe's first lead did not stick for long. Leadoff hitter Joe Quelch did it all by himself after leading off the home half of the first with a walk. He later stole second, and then moved to third after a failed pickoff attempt. Quelch then came in to score on a wild pitch, tying things up at 1-1.
 
The Mustangs jumped ahead once again in the top of the third. Kristopher Salinas singled to left, and then Crespo ripped a double to right to put both runners in scoring position. Felix hit a long fly ball to right that brought in Salinas on a sacrifice fly, putting Monroe up, 2-1. While Harford was checking the bases to see if either runner left early, the umpires never granted the Fighting Owls a timeout, and Crespo took advantage by stealing home while the ball was at second base, leaving Monroe up, 3-1.
 
The Fighting Owls put runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the third. Nick Gaitan singled up the middle, bringing Blake Mayberry home to cut the deficit to one, but the Mustangs held them there for the time being.
 
Jeremiah Guzman singled to lead off the fourth for Harford, and then moved to second on a wild pitch. After stealing third, a wild pitch brought in Guzman to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Salinas doubled straight down the left-field line to lead off the fifth for the Mustangs, and then advanced to third on a fly out by Crespo. Miguel Toribio brought him in on a groundout to first, putting the Mustangs back in the lead, 4-3.
 
Nathaniel Alvarez reached on an error with one out in the sixth that put him on second base. He moved up to third on a passed ball, and then a groundout to short by Jaison Andujar brought him home to make it a 5-3 lead for the Mustangs.
 
Harford rallied for its first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth. The Fighting Owls had runners on second and third with two down when Quelch beat out an infield single to bring in a run and get the home team within one. Trey Cruz then singled into right to plate one more and tie the game at 5-5. Mayberry followed with another RBI single, pushing the Fighting Owls ahead, 6-5.
 
Three outs away from defeat, the Mustangs were up to the task of keeping the game going in the top of the seventh. Salinas and Crespo both walked without an out, and then Toribio singled into left to load the bases. Felix then hit his second sacrifice fly of the game, this time with a long fly ball to right-center, to bring Salinas home and tie the game. Dante Paolucci followed with a single into right, scoring Crespo to put Monroe back in the lead. During the next at-bat, a wild pitch brought in Toribio, leaving the Mustangs on top, 8-6, heading to the home half of the seventh.
 
Nick Gaitan singled, and advanced to second on an error to lead off the final frame for Harford. Braedon Karpathios then drew a walk. Guzman then delivered the dagger for the Fighting Owls with a walk-off three-run homer to center, giving Harford a 9-8 victory.
 
Grant Goodlad suffered the loss for the Mustangs to fall to 0-4 on the year. Austin Rohlfing picked up the win in relief for the Fighting Owls to improve to 1-0.
 
Paolucci knocked in two runs after going 1-for-3 in Tuesday's opener. Crespo batted 1-for-2 with three runs scored, a double and two stolen bases. Salinas hit 2-for-2 with a double and three runs of his own. Felix finished 1-for-1 with two RBIs, two stolen bases and two sacrifice flies. Andujar knocked in a run in a 1-for-3 outing. Toribio scored once and knocked in another run in a 1-for-4 effort.
 
GAME 2: Harford 3, Monroe 1
Tuesday's second contest got off to a much slower start offensively for both teams. It was not until the fifth frame that either team got on the board. In the top of the fifth, Angel De La Cruz singled into right to lead off the frame, and then was sacrificed over to second by Alvarez. Toribio then ripped a double to right, scoring De La Cruz from second to put Monroe ahead, 1-0.
 
Harford rallied right back in the home half of the fifth. John McNamee drew a one-out walk, and was then pinch run for by Cam Trego. Quinn Madden drew a walk, and then Cruz hit a two-out single to right to bring in Trego and tie the game. Before the next pitch, Cruz took off for second, drawing a look from the pitcher. The Mustangs had Cruz in a rundown, but Madden was able to score on the play, leaving the Fighting Owls up, 2-1.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mustangs got the first two batters of the inning out, but Karpathios hit a two-out solo homer to left-center, pushing Harford's lead to 3-1 heading to the seventh and final frame, but the Mustangs were unable to rally back into the game.
 
Roman Dorosh had a strong start for Monroe, going five frames and allowing just two runs on one hit with eight strikeouts, but he still shouldered his third loss of the season. Bobby Spencer got the complete-game victory for the Fighting Owls to improve to 2-1.
 
Toribio hit 2-for-4 with an RBI and two doubles in Game 2. De La Cruz scored a run after hitting 1-for-3. Crespo batted 1-for-3 with a double and a stolen base, while Alvarez hit 1-for-2 with a double of his own.
 
The Mustangs have a quick turnaround, as they return home on Wednesday, March 30, to host NJCAA Div. III's No. 1-ranked team, Rowan College South Jersey – Gloucester, at Dick Caswell Field. First pitch of the nine-inning affair is set for 3:30 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