Purchase, NY
(March 6, 2016) – Purchase baseball bounced back Sunday at home.
A day after dropping a pair to Worcester State, including a 10-inning, one-run defeat to the Lancers in the season opener, the Panthers regrouped and soundly defeated Norwich University 11-4 in game one and 5-0 in game two.
The non-conference victories even Purchase's record at 2-2, while dropping Norwich to 0-4.
The Panthers started strong in Sunday's opener.
Purchase scored three runs in the first, highlighted by a
Mathew Chavez (SR/Brooklyn, NY) RBI that scored
Ronald Pressley (JR/Bronx, NY) for the game's first run. The Panthers took advantage of some poor defense by Norwich, which also opened the season Saturday, to tack on two more runs in the frame.
In the second,
Brenden LaPorte (SR/Farmington, CT) singled home
Gregory Walsh (FR/Bethpage, NY) for a 4-0 lead.
The second inning brought home two more Panther runs, with Chavez collecting his second RBI of the game on a single to left, among the highlights.
The Cadets chipped away at the deficit, scoring two runs in the third and a single run in the fourth. Norwich catcher Brandon Pedley accounted for two of those RBIs.
With the score now 6-2, Pressley got caught in a pickle between first and second, allowing Purchase's seventh run to come across the plate in the fourth. The Panthers scored one more run in the fourth and broke the game open in the fifth on a three-run, inside-the-park home run by
William Kaul (SR/Eastchester, NY). The drive to the right-center field gap put the finishing touches on a strong offensive win for the Panthers.
Norwich scratched across a single run in the sixth on an RBI double, but the Panthers closed the door between the sixth and seventh for their first victory of the season.
Purchase starter
Jonathan Deacon (SO/Lindenhurst, NY) earned the win, while reliever
Dominic Micara (FR/Massapequa, NY), who entered in the fifth, recorded the save, tossing three innings of one-run baseball.
The Panthers smashed 14 hits in the opener, as four players recorded multi-hit games, including three hits from
Nick Kulbaba (SR/Suffern, NY).
Game two played out differently. It was a pitcher's duel until the bottom of the fifth, when the Panthers broke through against Norwich starter Kaleb Smith.
Smith and Purchase starter
Lukas Chin (SO/Spring Valley, NY) matched zeroes through the first four innings.
Chin, like the Panthers, was sharp. He allowed only one hit and struck out five through the first five innings.
Meanwhile, Smith, after a good start, allowed four runs in the fifth, three earned.
The Panthers manufactured the runs in the frame, once again taking advantage of some defensive struggles by Norwich. With runners in scoring position, a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Walsh brought home the game's first run.
It was followed by bunt single by Chavez, who made it 2-0. Some solid base running scored the third run, and an RBI groundout by
Patrick Rucci (JR/Cortlandt Manor, NY) plated Purchase's fourth run.
Now pitching with the lead, Chin hurled another scoreless inning in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers added an insurance run for Chin. Kaul walked and stole second and third before Pressley hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
Chin returned for the seventh, finishing off the complete-game shutout for the win. He allowed two hits over seven innings.
Purchase totaled eight hits in game two, including two hits apiece for Kulbaba, Chavez and
Alexander Nova (SO/Miami, FL).
The Panthers will look to make it three straight Wednesday, when SUNY New Paltz comes to Purchase for a single, nine-inning game.
