Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

Bronx, NY (Mar. 20, 2014) – Even with the No. 4 train rumbling by, the Purchase College softball team felt right at home at South Field on the campus of Lehman College, opening their spring season on the road in a game they hosted in the Bronx.

With Purchase's field unplayable due to inclement weather, the Panthers took their season-opening twin bill on the road and swept the Lightning 10-3 and 11-3.

The Panthers looked strong in their debut. Purchase received contributions throughout, especially at the plate, where the hosts totaled 21 runs in two games.   

In the opener, Lehman collected a double in the first inning, but Purchase starter Christine Leo (SR/Monroe, CT) stranded the runner on second.

The Panthers countered with their first cuts of the spring season by answering with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Lehman starter Sheila San Andres quickly got the first two outs, but three walks and then a key two-RBI single off the bat of Stephanie Gaudinier (SR/Verplanck, NY) put the Panthers out in front, 2-0.  San Andres worked around a bases loaded jam to close the inning, but Purchase had struck first.

The Lightning threatened in the top half of the second thanks to an infield error that started the frame. The runner would advance to third, but Leo struck out three straight to keep the lead intact.

Leo then helped her own cause in the bottom half of the inning. A walk followed by two bunt singles from Christina Sanderson (SR/Schaghticoke, NY) and Tara Stiansen (SO/Hampton Bays, NY) loaded the bases for Leo, who walked in the game's third run. Gaudinier and April Uhl (FR/Jackson Heights, NY) followed with run-scoring walks as the Panthers took a 5-0 margin into the third.

Another quick scoreless frame under Leo's belt in the third got Purchase back in the batter's box, but San Andres settled in and tossed her best inning to date, allowing just one hit in the frame. She was helped by her defense, which recorded an 8-5 putout.  

Utilizing the moment from the scoreless inning, Lehman scored its first run of the game in the top of the fourth. A one-out single by San Andres set the table for Meghan Bravo, who doubled in the run. With two outs, the Lightning nearly scored their second run on an Ashley Williams single, but left fielder Amanda Green (FR/Roslyn Heights, NY) gunned down the runner at the plate to preserve the 5-1 lead.

Purchase then tacked on three more runs, highlighted three singles, including a two-run scoring hit from shortstop Briana Leon (FR/Glen Cove, NY).   

The Panthers made some changes in the top half of the fifth, most notably shifting Leo to catcher and moving center fielder and flex player Nicole Fortuna (FR/New Rochelle, NY) to the hill. Lehman, trailing 8-1, posted two runs on two hits to get back in the game.

After surrendering a one-out error, the Lightning then turned a nifty 4-4-3 double play in the bottom of the fifth on the shoulders of second baseman Arlette Martinez, who made the error and then bounced back by turning two on the next play.

Fortuna settled in for Purchase in the sixth, striking out the side swinging.

Moving into the bottom of the sixth, Purchase clung to an 8-3 lead. The Panthers padded their lead with two more runs in the inning, scoring a pair wrapped around two walks, a hit batsmen and a hit.

Fortuna hurled a one-two-three inning to seal the victory for the Panthers – the first for interim head coach Alyse LaPadula and her staff, Greg Carey and Alexis Vallario in the absence of Albana Krasniqi. LaPadula is filling in for Krasniqi, who is on maternity leave, but will return next season.   

Fortuna started on the mound in game two, but the first-inning results weren't the same as those at the end of the opener, with Lehman scoring two runs on three hits before Fortuna struck out two straight swinging to limit the damage.

Lehman led 2-0 heading into the bottom half of the first.  

Purchase wasted little time trailing Lehman. The Panthers loaded the bases off game-two starter Bravo, paving the way for a grand slam home run by ToniAnn Licata (JR/Mount Kisco, NY). Licata smashed a four-bagger off the left field fence. The long ball quickly erased the two-run deficit and handed the Panthers a 4-2 lead. The homer was the first hit of the game for patient Purchase, who loaded the bases on two walks and a HBP.

The Panthers squeezed across two additional unearned runs following an error on a two-RBI single off the bat of Brianna Gianni (FR/Ronkonkoma, NY). The single through the right side of the infield and into right plated two more for a 6-2 margin.

Fortuna hurled a scoreless second and the Panthers tacked on a single run in the bottom half on a hit and an error.

Purchase took a 7-2 lead into the third inning with Fortuna settling in nicely. The young right-handed pitcher navigated around a two-out double by Williams, striking out two in the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Leon started the inning with a single and advanced on a stolen base. Shortly later, with one out, Sanderson plated Leon on an RBI single before being thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. The Panthers pushed their lead to 8-2 on the RBI by Sanderson.

Both teams traded zeroes in the fourth.  

In the fifth, Lehman loaded the bases and scratched across a run on a fielder's choice. New pitcher Licata buckled down and pitched her way out of the jam, as the Panthers took the five-run lead into the bottom of the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, two more singles and two more walks opened the door for another bases loaded situation and Leo wouldn't let her opportunity to seal the doubleheader sweep get away from her. After Stiansen plated a run on a bases-loaded walk to make it 9-3, Leo delivered a single up the middle that put the sweep to bed. The two-run RBI single clinched the run-rule victory, with Purchase earning an 11-3 win.

Purchase will look to extend its win streak Saturday at SUNY College at Old Westbury.