NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., April 24, 2024 – With at least one hit in both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader against Paramount Academy, Eli Gries-Smith reached a milestone 20th straight game with a base hit to help the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team sweep the Grizzlies at Dick Caswell Field. The Sophomore Day wins improved to the Mustangs to 25-17-1 on the season.
 
Gries-Smith's 20-game hitting streak is a Monroe College record. The sophomore, who was honored in pregame as one of 12 Mustang sophomores, kept his scorching hot streak going with a single in the third inning of each game on Wednesday. Over his 20-game hitting streak, Gries-Smith is batting .551 while also leading the team with 25 runs scored, 21 RBIs, 38 hits and 11 doubles.
 
GAME 1: Monroe 10, Paramount 7
The Mustangs got a quick jump on the Grizzlies in Game 1. Diego Urreta led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle, and then moved to second on a balk. Anthony Fernandez singled into left with one out to put runners on the corners. Pedro Vasquez then grounded out to third, but brought Urreta home in the process to give Monroe its first run of the game. Keldrin Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, and then a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Jose Fernandez then hit a slow dribbler toward the pitcher, who tried to get the runner coming home, but was too late to get Anthony Fernandez, leaving Monroe up, 2-0, after one.
 
The Grizzlies got a run back in the second. Leonardo May led off with a double, and then Cesar Gonzalez singled to right-center to put runners on the corners. Johander Echarry then brought May home with a sacrifice fly to center, cutting the deficit in half at 2-1.
 
The Mustangs bounced right back in their next at-bat. Christian Carratala dropped a single into right, and then Gilbert Gomez doubled over the right fielder to put runners on second and third. A balk then brought Carratala home to make it a 3-1 game. A single into right by Urreta then brought Gomez home for a 4-1 Mustang lead. Eli Gries-Smith followed with a walk, and then a ground out by Anthony Fernandez put both runners in scoring position. Vasquez walked to load the bases, and then a ground out to short by Rodriguez brought Urreta home for a 5-1 advantage.
 
Christian Carratala had a pop-up drop between three infielders for a one-out single in the third. With two down, Urreta smacked a triple over the center fielder, bringing in Carratala to make it a 6-1 game. Gries-Smith followed with a line-drive single to right-center to bring Urreta home for a 7-1 lead, extending his hitting streak to 19 straight games as well.
 
The Grizzlies took a chunk out of the Mustangs' lead in the top of the fifth. A four-hit rally, aided by three Mustang errors, led to four runs coming in for the visitors to bring the score to 7-5 before a lightning delay halted the game for 30 minutes.
 
Paramount then closed the gap in the top of the sixth. After a single and a walk put two runners on, Javier Suarez hit a single up the middle, plating Eliecer Gonzalez to make it a 7-6 game. A ground out to first by May then brought Jose Castillo home to tie the game at 7-7.
 
Gries-Smith immediately put the Mustangs in position to take the lead back in the home half of the sixth with a leadoff triple to deep left-center. Anthony Fernandez then singled through the right side to bring Gries-Smith home and put Monroe back on top, 8-7. The Mustangs later loaded the bases with one out, leading to a run coming in when Jeremy De La Mota was hit by a pitch, making it a 9-7 game. Carratala was hit by a pitch as well, bringing another run home to leave the Mustangs up, 10-7, heading to the final frame, where the Mustangs closed out the three-run victory.
 
Daniel DiEdwards came on in relief in the top of the sixth, going the final 1.2 innings for the Mustangs to earn the win and improve to 6-1. He allowed just one hit with one strikeout. Reliever Endrick Reyes took the loss for the Grizzlies.
 
Urreta finished a home run shy of the cycle in Game 1, hitting 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Gries-Smith extended his hitting streak to 19 games after going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run and an RBI. Anthony Fernandez went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Gilbert Gomez doubled and scored a run in a 2-for-4 effort. Carratala hit 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Vasquez brought in a run in a 1-for-3 game, while Jose Fernandez did the same after finishing 1-for-4.
 
GAME 2: Monroe 11, Paramount 1 (5 INN)
The Mustangs got the scoring started in Game 2 in the bottom of the second. With two down, De La Mota beat out a grounder to third to keep the inning alive. Omar Antonio Burgos walked, and then Fraelyn Rosario Pena doubled down the right-field line, bringing De La Mota home for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Mustangs exploded in the home half of the third to take a big lead on the Grizzlies. Urreta beat out a very slow roller in the infield for a leadoff single. Gries-Smith then dropped a single down the right-field line, extending his hitting streak to 20 games and moving Urreta up to third. A walk by Rodriguez then loaded the bases. Anthony Fernandez doubled down the left-field line to bring in two runs for a 3-0 lead. De La Mota drew a one-out walk to load the bases again, followed by a walk by Burgos to bring in a run for a four-run edge. Pena was hit by a pitch to bring in another run and make it a 5-0 Mustang lead. Urreta then really broke the game open, launching a grand slam over the fence in left-center to stretch Monroe's lead to 9-0 after three.
 
The Mustangs added to their lead again in the fourth to help get to a run-rule finish. A pair of walks led to an RBI single by Vasquez that pushed the lead to 10. Another walk to Burgos had two on with two outs. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, and then a balk brought Vasquez home to make it an 11-0 game.
 
Getting the Game 2 start, Anthony Fernandez took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He struck out the leadoff hitter, but the run ended after 4.1 with a single by Ismael Medina. Gonzalez then doubled down the right-field line to bring in Medina to make it an 11-1 score, but Fernandez settled down after that to get the final two outs and secure the run-rule victory after five frames.
 
Anthony Fernandez went the complete five innings in Game 2, allowing just one run on two hits with three strikeouts to pick up his first victory of the season. Alex Lora took the loss for the Grizzlies.
 
Urreta batted 2-for-3 with a grand slam in Game 2, finishing with four RBIs and two runs scored. Anthony Fernandez helped himself out at the plate with two RBIs, a run and a double in a 1-for-2 effort. Gries-Smith made it 20 straight games with a base hit by hitting 1-for-3 with a run. Pena went 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a run and a double in the win. Vasquez knocked in a run and scored once himself in a 1-for-3 outing. De La Mota went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Burgos did not register an at-bat in the game after walking three times, leading to a run scored and an RBI.
 
The Mustangs have a rivalry matchup set for this Saturday, April 27, at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md. Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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 (@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs). Read Full Article