Old Westbury, NY
(April 9, 2017) – The Purchase College baseball team returned back to their winning ways with a Skyline Conference Special Olympics doubleheader sweep at SUNY Old Westbury on Sunday. Purchase battled to a 9-4 victory in the opener before completing the sweep with a 5-2 win in game two.
Game One: Purchase 9, Old Westbury 4
Purchase broke the scoring ice off Old Westbury starter Adam Heidenfelder in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore ace
Nick Tuozzola (Milford, CT) (1-for-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI) hit a RBI double to score senior teammate
Taylor Ringold (South Setauket, NY) (1-for-3, R, RBI) to give Purchase the early 1-0 advantage.
Old Westbury responded in the bottom frame of the fifth off Purchase starter
Nicholas Palmerini (FR/Northport, NY). Louis Sileno (1-for-3, R, 2B) doubled down the right field line and later scored off Jesse Matos's (2-for-4, R, RBI, SB) single for the equalizer. Two batters later, Tommy Ziegen (2-for-5, 2 RBI, SB) singled to Purchase senior shortstop
Teofilo Ramirez (Queens, NY) to bring home Matos and Jesse Russo (2-for-5, R) to extend Old Westbury's lead to two (3-1).
Purchase made it a 3-2 game in the top of the seventh after Ringold reached on a fielding error by Old Westbury shortstop Ziegen and scored
Patrick Rucci (SR/Cortlandt Manor, NY) (1-for-4, R, RBI).
Old Westbury added one run to the board after Gianni Carbone's double brought home Dean Sheridan to extend the lead 4-2.
Purchase produced seven runs off of three Old Westbury pitchers to take the lead in the ninth inning.
Brian Cunningham (SO/Westbury, NY) singled to left center to score pinch runner
Elias Sayad (SR/Wayne, NY) for Purchase to pull within one (4-3) and end Heidenfelder's day.
Ryan Mordecai faced four batters in relief efforts to complete the save for Old Westbury.
Gerard Fraracci (SR/Flushing, NY) reached on a hit by pitch and rookie
John Fitzgerald (FR/Wantagh, NY) (2-for-4, R) slapped one to left center to load the bases. Tuozzola was hit by a pitch to bring home the tying run (4-4).
Patrick Wallace (FR/Manorville, NY) followed with a two RBI single to score Fraracci and Fitzgerald to give Purchase the 6-4 lead. Purchase tacked on three more runs off Old Westbury reliever Vinny Negri to extend the lead to 9-4.
Old Westbury were unable to overcome the deficit in the bottom of the ninth as Purchase reliever
Lorenzo Lagares (FR/Queens, NY)(1-0) retired three batters to settle the 9-4 final.
Game 2: Purchase 5, Old Westbury 2
Purchase broke the scoring ice in the third inning off Old Westbury starter Jason Espinal. Rucci (1-for-4, R, 2 RBI) singled to right field to score
Gavin Brien (FR/Brooklyn, NY) and Wallace to give Purchase the early 2-0 lead.
Purchase extended its lead to three (3-0) after Ringold scored off
Jackson Hill's (FR/New York, NY) ground out in the sixth inning.
Old Westbury responded in the bottom frame of the sixth with two runs to pull within one off Purchase starter Ramirez. Kevin Lao's (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI) double to left center scored David Hawley and Ziegen (1-for-3, R) to make it a 3-2 game.
Purchase added two insurance runs in the seventh inning off Old Westbury reliever Liam Slattery. Brien reached on a fielder's choice and later scored off Cunningham's single through the left side. Rucci rounded home off a throwing error by Ziegen that closed out the scoring for the visitor's 5-2 victory.
The Panthers head to Lehman College on Wednesday for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
–Old Westbury Sports Information contributed to this release
