PURCHASE, NY – The Purchase College baseball team opened the 2020 season on Saturday against the City College of New York.
Timely hitting helped the Panthers earn the 2-1 win in the opening game of the non-conference doubleheader. CCNY took game two by a score of 4-3.
Game One: Purchase 2, CCNY 1
The Beavers broke the scoring ice on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Ethan Angress was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Jonathan Rivera hit a sacrifice bunt to advance his teammate to second base. Angress reached third on a Cooper York groundout and later came home to score on a wild pitch with Hamley Volquez up at the plate.
Purchase rallied in the top of the seventh. In similar style,
Nick Lasala (SR/Massapequa Park, NY)—the leadoff hitter for the Panthers—reached on a wild pitch and advanced to second on a
Patrick Wallace (SR/Manorville, NY) groundout.
Matthew Nilsen (J/Bellmore, NY) was intentionally walked by CCNY for the double play opportunity. The attempt backfired for the Beavers however, as a passed ball followed by a single to right field advanced the runners around to score.
Gavin Brien (SR/Brooklyn, NY) earned the 2-RBI single with a perfectly placed hit to right-center field.
Purchase closer
Nicholas Torres (SR/Cornwall, NY) secured the win for Purchase in the bottom half of the inning to notch his first win of the season.
Game Two: CCNY 2, Purchase 3
CCNY opened up the scoring in game two on a RBI single to right field from Sean Reira.
Purchase tied the game (1-1) on a Nilsen RBI single to center field that brought Wallace home to score.
The Panthers jumped out in front, 2-1, in the fourth inning on a balk, before CCNY pushed back in the sixth with two runs to take a 3-2 lead.
James May (SO/Floral Park, NY) recorded a RBI double for Purchase in the seventh inning to tie the score at 3-apiece and send the game into extra innings.
A scoreless eighth inning for both teams followed before CCNY knocked in a run on a single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the 4-3 win.
Up next, the Panthers head to central Florida to compete in the Russmatt Invitational. Purchase will take on Union College on opening day (Feb. 27). The non-conference matchip is slated for 10 a.m.
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