PURCHASE, NY – A three-run eighth inning by Manhattanville College capped a late comeback against the Purchase College baseball team Tuesday afternoon, as the Panthers dropped a 12-9 decision at neighboring Manhattanville Field.
Purchase (11-7) took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first and added three more runs in the following inning. Senior co-captain
Brian Cunningham (Westbury, NY) opened up the scoring with a RBI single to center field.
In the second inning, with the bases loaded, rookie Panther
James Shea (FR/Brooklyn, NY) reached on a fielder's choice but was awarded the RBI after bringing teammate
Matthew Nilsen (SO/Bellmore, NY) in from third base.
Jemal Betances (FR/Bronx, NY) later scored on a Manhattanville (10-8) failed pickoff attempt and
Matthew Mulligan (SO/Bellport, NY) capped the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field. Shea scored on the play to push PC's lead to 4-0.
RBI singles from Justin Ramos and Peter Iannarilli in the second and third, respectively, kept the Valiants within striking distance (4-2).
In the top of the fourth, Betances stretched Purchase's lead to 6-2 after launching a two-run homer to left field. Shea added another run (7-2) for the Panthers later in the inning, thanks to a Mulligan groundout to the shortstop.
Manhattanville's Kieran Corrigan and Luke Scoggins singled to lead off the fifth and came around to score on a double by Iannarilli and sacrifice fly by Shaffer, respectively.
Purchase grabbed a run back in the top of the sixth (8-4) on a Mulligan RBI groundout.
The Manhattanville offense ignited in bottom half of the inning. Matt Lynch led off with a walk, advanced to second when Jack Matero was hit by a pitch, then stole third, putting runners on the corners with no one out. After Corrigan singled Lynch in (8-5), Scoggins dropped a sacrifice bunt, putting Matero and Corrigan in scoring position. Iannarilli doubled both in, trimming the lead to one (8-7), then scored to tie the game (8-8) when Luke Shaffer reached on an error.
The Valiants took their first lead in the seventh when Corrigan doubled in Lynch. RBI singles by Matt Tuite, Lynch and Corrigan in the eighth gave the Valiants a 12-8 cushion. Nick Carita retired the first two batters in the ninth before Purchase pushed across a run, but with the tying run at the plate, the right-hander induced a groundout to the shortstop to end the game.
Despite the loss, Purchase saw multi-hit contributions from half of its lineup.Sgea recorded two hits off three trips to the plate, to go along with two runs and one RBI. Betances went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI. Cunningham finished with two hits and one RBI, while
Gavin Brien (JR/Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with two hits and a run.
Panther relief pitcher
Michael Laskowski (SO/Floral Park, NY) was tagged with his first loss of the season after giving up the lead-changing run in the seventh.
For the Valiants, Noah Garcia earned his first career win after allowing just one run over three innings in relief, while Carita closed out the win for his first collegiate save.
Purchase is back on the road again tomorrow. The Panthers are set to take on the College of Staten Island Dolphins in a non-conference game starting at 4 p.m.
