Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

West Harrison, NY (Mar. 17, 2012) – Purchase baseball battled No. 22 ranked SUNY Cortland Saturday at Silver Lake Park. The powerhouse Red Dragons (10-4), one of the elite programs in the country under the guidance of longtime skipper Joe Brown, took the opener 11-1 and followed with a 3-1 win in the second game of the twin bill.
 
It was a sunny, beautiful day at the park in West Harrison, with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees – perfect conditions for a highly anticipated matchup. A large crowd of spectators came out to watch the two SUNY programs do business on the diamond. The Panthers entered the contest fresh off their impressive 4-3, nine-inning victory against neighboring rival Manhattanville Thursday afternoon, while visiting Cortland came in riding a five-game win streak following Thursday's 6-4  win against the College of Staten Island.     
 
Aside from some early damage, Cortland prevailed late in both games of the twin bill as the Panthers hung tough with an all-star laden squad.   
 
In game one, the Red Dragons opened with five runs in the top of the first, highlighted by a double and an RBI by second baseman Matt June. Cortland would string together a hit and a walk and later load the bases, but Panther ace Matt Paz* (JR/Bridgeport, CT) would bounce back, striking out first baseman Max Rosing and inducing a fielder's choice – first base to home for the second out – before Cortland capitalized on a timely single up the middle by catcher P.J. Rinaldi, plating two. An error in the infield and another two-out hit brought around two more, despite a solid opening frame from Paz.       
 
Purchase (7-8) threatened in the first, putting runners at the corners. Leadoff hitter extraordinaire and Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week Michael Sarni (JR/Shelton, CT) singled and stole two bases. With two outs, cleanup hitter Mark Donahue (SR/Brookhaven, NY) engineered a walk against Cortland's Ray Angelucci, but the Red Dragons starting pitcher recorded the final out on a strike out, holding the Panthers at bay in their first turn at bat.
 
Paz settled in as well, tossing a one-two-three inning in the top of the second. Angelucci also pitched a scoreless second. In the top of the third, Paz brandished another one-two-three frame, retiring the fifth, sixth and seventh hitters in order.
 
The fleet-footed Sarni leadoff the bottom of the inning for the Panthers with a walk and his third steal of the game, taking second base. Purchase would scratch across its first run of the game on a sharp single by Donahue, plating Sarni and making the score 5-1 after three full innings.
 
Trailing by four runs, Paz continued to pitch brilliantly on the hill after a rough first inning against the DIII power. The righty completed his third straight one-two-three inning in the fourth, setting down nine in a row.
 
In the fifth and sixth, Cortland broke out offensively, scoring four runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth chasing Paz. Chris Jackson drove home two in the fifth on an RBI double. Cortland added two more on another timely RBI single and a triple by DH Andrew Pezzuto, who was gunned down at the plate trying to stretch the triple into an inside the park home run. The Red Dragons tacked on a solo run for good measure in the next inning as they took a commanding 10-1 lead in game one.  
 
Angelucci (3-1), who would earn the victory on the mound, was replaced by reliever Adam Smith in the bottom of the sixth. Smith picked up where he left off and tossed a one-two-three inning. The Red Dragons added another insurance run in the top of the seventh and then closed out the game in the bottom half of the inning with Smith on the mound.  
 
In the opener, Cortland's lineup was paced by Rinaldi, who was one of three hitters with two hits in game one. Rinaldi also finished with a game-high three RBI. On the hill, Angelucci struck out nine in five innings.  
 
In defeat, Paz dropped to 2-1 on the season.
 
Game two featured promising first-year Panther pitcher Christopher Nast (SO/Pound Ridge, NY). Nast, making his first start of the season, opposed John Molloy in the second game and pitched around some trouble in the first, allowing one run. Like Paz, Nast settled in after the first, pitching scoreless frames in the second and third.
 
In the fourth, Nast allowed a walk and a single to leadoff the inning. A single off the bat of Bryan Mistretta plated the game's second run. An RBI groundout brought home another run in the inning as Cortland led 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.      
 
The Panthers threatened in the fourth, putting two runners on with two out against Molloy, a hard-throwing lefty. The Cortland starter avoided major trouble by inducing a double play early in the inning. However, the Panthers got on the board thanks to an RBI single by catcher Frank Fiumara* (SR/Port Chester, NY).
 
Panther reliever Eric Cuadrado (SR/Yonkers, NY) pitched a scoreless fifth to keep the hosts in the hunt in the nightcap, but Molloy and reliever Tyler Scott teamed to match zeroes in the bottom half of the frame.
 
After Cuadrado worked a perfect sixth for Purchase, Scott recorded the first two outs in the Panthers turn at bat before departing for left-handed reliever Peter Lompado, who finished off the scoreless sixth for Cortland.
 
Cuadrado was a bright spot in relief, finishing off his day by retiring eight consecutive batters. 
 
With Cuadrado providing some momentum, the Panthers did not go quietly in the last half of the inning. Fiumara doubled as coach Brown once again went to his bullpen.
 
Fiumara would advance to third on a ground out, but the Panthers couldn't scratch across another run with the tying run at the plate. The Red Dragons closed out the narrow win in the seventh. Cortland has now won seven straight.
 
Purchase will get right back to work on Sunday, hosting St. Joseph's College-BKLYN for two games in West Harrison. First pitch is once again set for noon.
 
NOTES: The Panthers and co-captain Josh Spielberg (SR/Oceanside, NY) received some disappointing news this week. Spielberg injured his left ankle and further tests revealed a break. The star shortstop, now on crutches, will likely miss the remainder of the season as he is slated to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.