NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College Baseball team dropped a pair of games at Harford Community College on Thursday, losing the opener, 10-4 and falling in the second game, 4-2. Marcus Espinal extended his hitting streak to seven games.
The Mustangs fell behind early in game one against the Fighting Owls, giving up a pair of runs in the first. Monroe got one back in the second on consecutive singles from Espinal, Andy Karlan, and Adonis Garcia. Garcia and Espinal combined for seven hits in Monroe’s previous game, and they were just getting started against Harford.
Harford got two more in the second, taking a 4-1 lead into the third. Michael Crispino led off with a walk, but was erased on a fielder’s choice that got Isaiah Torres on base. From there, Shadrach Meulens followed with his team-leading fifth homer of the season, bringing Monroe within 4-3.
They tied the game in the next inning. Adonis Garcia reached on a one-out single, and Carlos Torres followed with another hit that got him to second. He moved to third when Wayne Roberts hit into a double-play, and scored on an RBI single from Crispino, knotting the score at 4-4. Harford rattled off six unanswered runs to go on to win, 10-4.
In game two, the Mustangs fell behind early. They came back and had strong pitching, but fell late, 4-2.
The Fighting Owls took a 1-0 lead with a run in the first, but Monroe grabbed the lead back in the third. Edgardo Bernard led off with a double. He came in on another two-bagger from Crispino. Later, Meulens drove Crispino in with an RBI single. Harford went on to win, 4-2.
Antonio Frias was tagged for the loss and fell to 3-4. He struck out seven in 4.1 innings of work. Francisco Urena tossed the final 1.2 innings without allowing a run.
With the pair of defeats, the Monroe College baseball team is now 18-22 on the year. They will close out the regular season this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders on the road. They will face Northampton Community College on Saturday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Saturday and play two at UConn Avery Point on Sunday.