Monroe Comes up Short Against Barr and SUNY Niagara

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- With the postseason eight days away, Monroe Community College Baseball took the field Thursday against nationally-ranked Niagara County Community College in a nine-inning game that felt like the playoffs.

The Tribunes grabbed an early lead against MLB draft prospect Matt Barr, but a pair of late-inning rallies didn't produce enough in a 5-2 loss.

Miguel Matos (Rochester, N.Y./East HS) doubled and later scored on a delayed double steal to give MCC a 1-0 lead after four innings of play. The Tribunes, though, left a runner at second to end the inning - a theme that played out through the afternoon for Monroe's offense.

MCC (21-14) put runners on base in four of Barr's six innings including the fourth and sixth when runners were stranded in scoring position.

"You need to attack him early," MCC head coach Dave Brust said of the freshman right-hander from Cheektowaga who improved to 6-0 on the season. "You got to get two swings on him. Ultimately, you got nothing to lose. You just got to load on time and get good swings on him. You have to continually hunt fastballs."

A handful of representatives from Major League Baseball franchises including the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays were on hand to watch Barr on Thursday.

He struck out 12 and allowed two runs (both earned) on two hits and four walks.

"We faced a pretty special arm, a one in a 10-year guy that you see with that kind of velocity," said MCC head coach Dave Brust. "We competed with that."

Monroe starter, Jackson Hubbard (Sayre, PA/Sayre HS) hurled four shutout innings before surrendering four runs in the fifth. One day after struggling in a relief outing in which he allowed two runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning of work, Hubbard struck out four while issuing one walk.

"He's growing and maturing," Brust said of the right-hander. "He realized this was an opportunity for him. He took advantage of it. He pitched very well."

Nigel Sebastianelli and Braden Hill led the fifth with back-to-back singles. It looked like Hubbard might escape the jam when battery mate Parker Zeiser (Victor, N.Y./Victor HS) came out from behind the plate on a bunt attempt and erased the lead runner at third. Hubbard then induced a routine fly ball for the second out of the inning.

Joe Panzarella singled to bring in the first Niagara run, and Gavyn Boyle capped the inning with a three-run shot over the fence in right field for a 4-1 NCCC (42-0) lead.

With Zeiser on first after a walk, Matos took advantage of a wild pitch to cut the deficit to two in the fifth inning. Evan Brock (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta HS) put runners on the corners with a base hit, but nothing came of it.

Tobey Wright (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta HS) connected on a one-out double in the eighth. Zeiser worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate. The Tribunes didn't get any closer.

"There's some growth to our pitching, our hitting, our defense and our offense," Brust said. "We're heading in the right direction. The nine-inning rhythm also is something that they're drawing experience from. They played it well."

Jaden Sherwood (Batavia, N.Y./Notre Dame-Batavia HS) struck out a pair and did not allow an earned run over four innings of work.

Monroe hosts Jefferson CC for a doubleheader on Saturday. A 1 p.m. first pitch of Game 1 is scheduled.