SUMTER, S.C., May 3, 2024 – Needing to make a run through the loser's bracket after Thursday's opening round defeat at the Region 10 Championship, the Monroe College Mustangs nearly gutted their way through three elimination games. The third-seeded Mustangs defeated No. 4 Spartanburg Methodist College, 3-0, and then staved off elimination again by taking down No. 6 USC Sumter, 2-1. The Mustangs fell into an early hole in their third game of the day against No. 1 Gaston College, but nearly made a late comeback before falling to the defending Region 10 Championship, 5-4. The Mustangs' season comes to an end with them finishing as the third-place team in the Region 10 Championship.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
After finishing third in the Region 10 Championship, three Mustangs were named to the Region 10 Championship All-Tournament team after their final game on Friday. Sarah Wall, Nathalie Mongrain and Angie Ordonez were the three representatives selected for the Mustangs.
 
ELIMINATION GAME 1: #3 Monroe 3, #4 Spartanburg Methodist 0
The Mustangs did what they needed to do to jump ahead in the bottom of the first against the Pioneers. Nathalie Mongrain walked to lead off the inning, and then a sacrifice bunt attempt by Gabriella Diaz was not fielded cleanly, allowing her to reach base on the play. With one out, Marissa Thalassinos drew a walk to load the bases. Then with two down, a wild pitch brought Mongrain home from third, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 edge over Spartanburg Methodist.
 
Monroe doubled its lead in the bottom of the third. Mongrain led off with a single to right. With one out, Angie Ordonez ripped a single into right center and advanced to second on a late throw to third, putting two runners in scoring position. Thalassinos then hit a fly ball to center, bringing Mongrain home on a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-0 lead for Monroe after three.
 
The Mustangs picked up one more run to pad the lead in the sixth. Marissa Thalassinos beat out a grounder to short to lead off the frame, and then Veronika Anderson sacrificed her to second. Nadyelly Bones then hit a grounder to second that was mishandled, allowing Thalassinos to come home from second, leaving the Mustangs up, 3-0, heading to the seventh.
 
Starter Sarah Wall took a no-hitter into the seventh frame, but Jacie Ross broke it up to lead off the inning. She hit a liner into left for a single that was misplayed, allowing her to advance all the way to third with nobody out. Wall struck the next two batters out before Emma Kennington drew a walk to keep things going temporarily. Wall then struck out the final batter to secure the one-hit victory, advancing the Mustangs to the next elimination game while knocking the Pioneers out of the tournament.
 
Wall was terrific in the win, allowing no runs and just one hit with 12 strikeouts to earn her 13th victory of the season. Region 10 Pitcher of the Year Bailey Kiser took the loss for Spartanburg Methodist after yielding two runs (one earned) in three innings.
 
Mongrain scored twice after hitting 1-for-2 in the victory. Thalassinos finished 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored. Diaz went 1-for-2, while Ordonez hit 1-for-3 in Friday's opener. Kayla Suleski got a hit in a pinch-hit opportunity in the sixth.
 
In the other elimination game, No. 6 USC Sumter picked up an 8-6 victory over No. 5 USC Union, knocking USC Union out of the tournament and setting up a Monroe vs. USC Sumter elimination game.
 
ELIMINATION GAME 2: #3 Monroe 2, #6 USC Sumter 1
Friday's second contest was a pitcher's duel, eventually seeing USC Sumter score the first run of the game in the top of the fifth after some miscues by the Mustangs. Olivia Kirkman was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Savanna Price then singled to left to put runners on first and third. The Fire Ants then went for a double steal, but the throw to second ended up in center field, allowing Kirkman to score and Price to advance to third with nobody out. Wall escaped from there, getting a pop-up to first before striking out the next two batters to keep Sumter's lead at 1-0.
 
The Mustangs made up for their mistakes in the home half of the fifth. With one out, Maricela Colon drew a walk. Mongrain then sacrificed, moving Colon all the way to third with two outs. Diaz came through with a huge RBI double to left-center, tying the game at 1-1. Ordonez then reached on an error by the shortstop to put runners on the corners, and then a dropped fly in center off the bat of Thalassinos allowed Diaz to come home and give the Mustangs a 2-1 advantage.
 
Wall did not allow another baserunner in the game. She shut the Fire Ants down in order in the sixth before striking out two batters in the seventh with a line out to third to end the game, sending the Mustangs to another elimination game and eliminating USC Sumter.
 
Wall was arguably better in Game 2 than her brilliant Game 1. She allowed one unearned run on two hits, striking out 11 batters without a walk across all seven frames to improve to 14-12 on the season. Kaylee Barrett took the loss for USC Sumter after giving up just two runs (one earned) on four hits in six innings of work.
 
Diaz finished 1-for-3 with a game-tying RBI double while also scoring the game-winning run. Suleski hit 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Thalassinos finished the game 1-for-3.
 
In the winner's bracket game, No. 1 Gaston College was defeated by No. 2 Florence-Darlington Technical College, 9-4. Gaston then fell into the loser's bracket, pitting the Rhinos against the Mustangs in Friday's final elimination game.
 
ELIMINATION GAME 3: #1 Gaston 5, #3 Monroe 4
Two big swings in the second inning gave Gaston a sizeable lead. With the bases loaded and two outs, Gabrielle Porterfield tomahawked a triple over the left fielder to clear the bases and give Gaston a 3-0 lead. Alayna Patrick then tomahawked a long fly ball of her own, this one leaving the park over the fence in left for a two-run homer to leave the Rhinos up, 5-0.
 
The Mustangs broke through in the top of the sixth. Suleski led off the inning with a single to short. After she stole second, Mongrain laid down a perfect bunt that found its way through a hole between the third baseman and pitcher, leaving it in no-woman's land and allowing Suleski to come all the way home, making it a 5-1 game. Diaz then beat out a bunt down the first-base line to get another runner on. Mongrain and Diaz executed a double steal to get both runners in scoring position, but Ordonez unfortunately lined into a double play right back to the pitcher to double off Mongrain at third for the first and second outs of the inning. Thalassinos then ripped a single through the left side to put runners on first and third. A double steal saw both runners advance safely, bringing Diaz home for a 5-2 score. Amber Miltenberg then roped a single into right-center to bring Thalassinos home, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
 
Monroe gave it one more go in the top of the seventh. With one out, Colon sent a long fly ball to deep right that dropped in for a triple. Suleski then grounded out to the pitcher, but brought in Colon on the play to make it a 5-4 game. Unfortunately, the Mustangs were unable to put any more batters on base, falling by just one run to the defending Region 10 Champions.
 
Despite throwing two complete games already, Wall went all six frames in Friday's third contest, allowing five runs while striking out six batters. She totaled 20 innings on the day, giving up just those five runs with 29 strikeouts. Abigail Gawlinski went all seven for the Rhinos, picking up the win after yielding four runs on eight hits.
 
Thalassinos hit 3-for-3 with a triple and a run in the game. Suleski batted 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Colon went 1-for-3 with a triple and a run, while Diaz also scored a run in a 1-for-3 game. Miltenberg knocked in a run in a 1-for-3 effort. Mongrain capped off a solid day by hitting 1-for-4 with an RBI.
 
The Mustangs' season ends with their second straight run to the Region 10 Championship tournament. Monroe's first year under head coach Lisa Brooks concludes with a 25-28 record, with the team going 22-11 since the beginning of March.
 
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