NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., May 11, 2024 – The 2024 NJCAA Div. I East District Baseball Championship will come down to a winner-takes-all Game 3 on Sunday, May 12, after the Monroe College Mustangs baseball team split Games 1 and 2 with No. 6 Florence-Darlington Technical College on Saturday at Dick Caswell Field. The Stingers edged out the Mustangs in a Game 1 pitcher's duel, 2-1, before a brilliant performance by Brailyn Cruz led the Mustangs to a 3-0 shutout win in Game 2 to even the series.
 
WINNER-TAKES-ALL ON SUNDAY
The East District Championship will now be determined with one final game on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Dick Caswell Field. The final game of the series will be played without a run rule and must go nine innings. The winner of Sunday's Championship Game will claim the East District Championship and advance to the 2024 Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. The Mustangs last reached Grand Junction in 2019, while Florence-Darlington last earned the trip in 2021.
 
GAME 1: #6 Florence Darlington 2, Monroe 1
Eli Gries-Smith became Monroe's new single-season hits record holder in the top of the first on Saturday. With a single in his first at-bat, Gries-Smith picked up his 67th hit of the season, surpassing the previous record of 66 set by Justin Morales back in 2015.
 
Both teams had their opportunities over the first three innings. The Mustangs defense turned two inning-ending double plays in both the first and second innings, while Monroe put the leadoff hitter on in each of the first three frames, but the game still went to the fourth without a run coming home.
 
That changed in the top of the fourth. Ethan Plyler led off with a double to left-center for the Stingers, and then advanced to third on a fly out to deep center. With two outs, TJ Anderson held off on ball four with a full count to keep the inning going and put runners on the corners. Zack Hunt then came through for the Region 10 Champions with a double to right-center, plating both runners to give the Stingers a 2-0 lead.
 
The Mustangs finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh in Game 1. Pedro Vasquez led off the inning with a single up the middle. With one out, the Mustangs executed a hit-and-run to perfection, having Vasquez take off for second to draw the second baseman out of position, allowing a hard grounder by Jose Fernandez to roll into right-center for a single to get runners on first-and-third for Monroe. The Stingers then pulled starter Trenton Burnett for reliever Matthew Driver. Jeremy De La Mota then came up and singled into left, plating Vasquez to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
 
The Mustangs were down to their final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, De La Mota kept the inning alive with a single through the left side. He later advanced to second on an errant pickoff, but he ended up stranded there as the Mustangs could not bring him home, resulting in a 2-1 victory for the Stingers.
 
Burnett got the win for Florence-Darlington after allowing one run in 6.1 innings, improving his record to 4-1. Derek Duval went 1.1 for his sixth save of the year. Daniel DiEdwards had a terrific start for the Mustangs, allowing two runs in 7.2 innings, but it was unfortunately not enough to pick up the win, dropping his record to 6-3.
 
De La Mota finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in Game 1. Gries-Smith went 2-for-4 as well with a double, pushing his season total to 68 hits for a new Monroe record. Diego Urreta and Jose Fernandez each hit 2-for-4 as well. Fraelyn Rosario Pena went 1-for-3, while Vasquez finished 1-for-4 with a run scored.
 
GAME 2: Monroe 3, #6 Florence Darlington 0
The Stingers threatened to take an early lead in the third inning in Game 2. With one out, Bradleigh Wohlers was on third base. Rom Kellis then hit a fly ball to center that was caught by Anthony Fernandez, who then fired home to catch Wohlers at the plate trying to tag up and score, keeping the Stingers off the board in the game's first big scoring opportunity.
 
Much like Game 1, the top of the fourth broke the scoreless tie in Game 2, but this time the Mustangs were batting as the away team. With one out, Jose Fernandez was hit by a pitch. De La Mota then hit a long fly ball off the fence in left for a double, putting runners on second and third. With two down, Keldrin Rodriguez then delivered the big blow of the inning, dropping a two-RBI single in front of the center fielder, leaving the Mustangs with their first lead of the day at 2-0.
 
The Mustangs struck again in the top of the sixth. Anthony Fernandez dropped a single into center to lead off the inning, and then Jose Fernandez hit a grounder through the hole on the left side to get two runners on. With one out, Vasquez ripped a double to left that brought Anthony Fernandez home, extending Monroe's lead to 3-0.
 
Monroe starter Brailyn Cruz was rolling through eight, so the Mustangs let him close it out in the ninth. Tyler Kamerer led off the inning with a double for the Stingers. Mac James then hit a long fly ball down the left field line that De La Mota barely chased down for the out, but Kamerer advanced to third on the play. Cruz then struck out Hunt for the second out, but walked Jackson Proctor to put runners on the corners. Anderson then came up to pinch hit for the Stingers, but Cruz struck him out to emphatically shut the door on a 3-0 victory to even the series.
 
Cruz threw his best game of the season in Game 2. He went the complete nine innings, shutting out the Stingers and allowing just four hits while striking out a season-high 13 batters to improve to 5-4 on the year. Michael Gibson went six innings for the Stingers, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts to take the loss and fall to 7-3.
 
Rodriguez finished 1-for-4, but made his only hit count by knocking in two runs in the fourth inning. Jose Fernandez went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Vasquez hit 2-for-4 with an RBI double. Anthony Fernandez and De La Mota each batted 1-for-4 with a run scored, with De La Mota's hit being a double. Gries-Smith finished the game 1-for-5.
 
Saturday's doubleheader split also keeps the season series between the Mustangs and Stingers even at 2-2 after the two teams each won a game down in Florence, S.C. back in February. Sunday's Championship Game is set for a 12 p.m. first pitch and will be streamed live on the Monroe Mustangs YouTube Channel.
 
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