SEWELL, N.J., April 27, 2022 – The 2022 season rubber match between the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team and Div. III No. 1 Rowan College South Jersey – Gloucester (RCSJ Gloucester) was essentially decided by one big inning for the Roadrunners, as they went on to pick up a 13-9 win over the Mustangs on Wednesday.
The Mustangs got off to a strong start with a second-inning rally. Three straight singles by
Nathaniel Alvarez,
Angel De La Cruz and
Luis Tejada resulted in a run to put the Mustangs in the lead.
Kristopher Salinas added Monroe's fourth straight single, and then
Miguel Toribio made it five in a row, bringing in another run to make it a 2-0 game.
Luis Villalba plated one more run on a groundout to second to leave Monroe ahead, 3-0.
The Roadrunners stayed within reach, picking up a run in each of the second and third innings to make it a 3-2 game heading to the fourth. Monroe had runners on second and third for Villalba in the top of the fourth, who hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Salinas and push the lead to 4-2.
Andres Castro hit a sacrifice fly of his own right after, scoring Toribio to leave Monroe ahead, 5-2. However, the Roadrunners immediately erased those two runs with two of their own in the home half of the fourth, bringing the score to 5-4.
Jaison Andujar and Alvarez drew back-to-back walks in the fifth. After a balk put both runners in scoring position, De La Cruz grounded out to second, bringing Andujar home to make it a 6-4 lead for Monroe.
The bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference in Wednesday's contest. Boosted by a few big hits, the Roadrunners put eight runs on the board, taking a 12-6 advantage over the Mustangs.
RCSJ Gloucester added one more run in the eighth to take a 13-6 lead, but the Mustangs did not go down without a fight in the ninth. Toribio and Villalba hit back-to-back singles to open the final frame. Castro was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and then
Salix Felix ripped a double to right, scoring two to make it a 13-8 game. Two batters later, Alvarez grounded out to first, scoring Castro from third to get Monroe within four, but unfortunately the rally ended there for the Mustangs.
Jason Kinnerman got the win in relief for the Roadrunners to improve to 1-0 on the season.
Angel Aviles was shouldered with the loss for Monroe to fall to 0-1.
Toribio scored twice and knocked in a run in a 2-for-4 outing on Wednesday. Salinas scored once after hitting 2-for-4. Villalba went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Felix knocked in two runs with a double in a 1-for-5 game. Alvarez, De La Cruz and Tejada all had matching lines, with each going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run.
The Mustangs do not get long to dwell on Wednesday's contest, as they get right back to work tomorrow, April 28, back at home at Dick Caswell Field. They will host County College of Morris tomorrow with a 3 p.m. first pitch.
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).
