SUMTER, S.C., April 30, 2024 – The Monroe College Mustangs softball team has earned its way back into the Region 10 Division I Softball Championship for the second straight season. After finishing as the tournament runner-up a year ago, a new look Mustang squad has its sights set on taking home the tournament title and advancing to the Mid-Atlantic District Championship.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Region 10 Division I Softball Championship
Patriot Park Eco Center
Sumter, South Carolina
May 2-4, 2024
Region 10 Championship Central
 
Tournament Seeding:

1. Gaston College (14-2, 47-7)
2. Florence-Darlington Technical College (12-4, 30-14)
3. Region 15 (NY): Monroe College (23-26)
4. Spartanburg Methodist College (7-9, 10-22)
5. USC Union (6-10, 18-24)
6. USC Sumter (1-15, 6-29)

 
Tournament Coverage:
Monroe College is planning to provide live stats and a live stream for all of its games at the Region 10 Championship.
Live Video: Monroe Mustangs YouTube Channel
Live Stats: MonroeCollegeMustangs.com/SBLiveStats
 
Tournament Schedule:
Thursday, May 2
Game 1 at 11:00am, Field 2: #5 USC Union defeated #3 Monroe (6-4)
Game 2 at 11:00am, Field 4: #4 Spartanburg Methodist defeated #6 USC Sumter (8-0, 5 inn.)
Game 3 at 1:30pm, Field 2: #1 Gaston defeated #5 USC Union (5-1)
Game 4 at 1:30pm, Field 4: #2 Florence-Darlington vs. #4 Spartanburg Methodist
 
Friday, May 3
Game 5 (elimination) at 11:00am, Field 2: #3 Monroe vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6 (elimination) at 11:00am, Field 4: #4 Spartanburg Methodist vs. Loser Game 3
Game 7 at 1:30pm, Field 2: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 8 (elimination) at 1:30pm, Field 4: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 9 (elimination) at 4:00pm, Field 2: Loser Game 7 vs. Winnner Game 8
 
Saturday, May 4
Championship Game at 11:00am, Field 1: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
(If necessary game starts 30 minutes following championship game if needed.)
 
What's at Stake?
The tournament winner will advance to the Mid-Atlantic District Championship, which will be hosted at the Region 17 (Georgia) Champion on May 8-10, 2024. A bid for the NJCAA Div. I Softball Championship at the Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama on May 20-25, 2024, will be on the line. 
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
The Mustangs officially clinched their spot in the Region 10 Championship after winning a Region 10 Play-In Series this past weekend at Harford Community College. The Mustangs swept the first two games of the series last Friday by scores of 3-1 and 5-4 to eliminate the need for a third game on Saturday, sending the Mustangs to South Carolina as the automatic No. 3 seed.
 
The Mustangs have had a long journey to the postseason in 2024. Monroe challenged itself with a season-opening trip to Texas that saw them go 1-13. The Mustangs then got a preview of the Region 10 tournament by playing three of its participants in late February. After falling twice to eventual No. 1 seed Gaston College, the Mustangs split their doubleheaders at Spartanburg Methodist College and USC Union.
 
The Mustangs turned the season around in a big way once they finally played at home, sweeping a home-opening doubleheader against NJCAA Div. III No. 6 Brookdale Community College before splitting with Div. III No. 2 Corning Community College. Monroe then won 3-of-4 against Frederick Community College and Lackawanna College. They had a tough doubleheader at Mercer County Community College to open April.
 
Monroe got back on track with a doubleheader sweep of Div. III No. 4 Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester and a split with SUNY Orange. The Mustangs then visited Harford on April 15, picking up a pair of one-run victories over the Fighting Owls to force the Region 10 Play-In Series to be scheduled two weeks later. They split with Lackawanna on Sophomore Day and then won Game 1 at Div. III No. 7 Brookdale before Game 2 was canceled.
 
Monroe then visited WVU Potomac State College for a four-game series beginning on April 19. History was made throughout that weekend with Sarah Wall throwing the program's first-ever perfect game and becoming the first pitcher in team history to reach 400 career strikeouts. Marissa Thalassinos surpassed the 100 career hits milestone that weekend as well. Monroe went 2-2 at Potomac State before taking 1-of-2 at Delaware Technical Community College to close out the weekend.
 
The Mustangs wrapped up the regular season at CCBC Catonsville. The Mustangs won both games against the Cardinals, and in Game 2, Thalassinos broke Monroe's all-time hits record. The wins gave the team momentum heading into Friday's play-in at Harford.
 
The Mustangs have put up some impressive offensive numbers this season, batting .336 as a team across 49 contests. Thalassinos is working her way toward an historic season and career, leading the team with a .438 average, 64 hits, 47 RBIs, 44 runs, seven home runs and six triples. Gabrielle Gonzalez is hitting .388 with a team-high 13 doubles and 42 runs scored. Aisling Wilson has batted .375 in 39 games and is second on the team with six home runs.
 
Monroe's top two pitchers have accounted for 22 of the team's 23 victories. Sarah Wall is 12-12 overall while Gabriella Diaz owns a 10-9 record. Since Monroe's first home game when the team turned things around, each of them has much improved statistics, with Wall going 10-5 with three saves and Diaz earning a 9-3 mark. Wall leads the team with 184 strikeouts this season in 140.1 innings, while Diaz has struck out 78 batters in 119.1 innings. Since March 3, Wall has accumulated a 2.69 ERA with a 2.06 ERA in the month of April.

QUICK GLANCE AT REGION 10
All five of Region 10's Div. I softball teams will participate in this weekend's championship tournament. Gaston rolled through the region, going 14-2 in conference play. The Rhinos received votes in the final NJCAA Div. I Softball Rankings after finishing 47-7 overall in the regular season. Florence-Darlington Technical College finished second in the region with a 12-4 conference record, finishing the regular season 30-14 overall. Spartanburg Methodist went 7-9 in the region with a 10-22 overall mark. USC Union was 6-10 against region teams and has an 18-24 overall record. Tournament host USC Sumter went 1-15 in region play and 6-29 overall.
 
Region 10 Softball Statistical Leaders
 
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).