AUBURNDALE, FL – Purchase College baseball returned to Auburndale, FL over the weekend to compete in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Following a five-game series against tough non-conference competition, the Panthers move to 2-5 on the young season.
Game 1 | Feb. 27 | Union 5, Purchase 2
Purchase started strong as designated hitter
Joshoa Ferro (JR/Richmond Hill, NY) singled into the gap to bring second baseman
Dylan Flynn (JR/Smithtown, NY) in to score.
The Panthers added another run in the top of the second inning.
Jackson Hill led off with a double and came around to score on an error by Union's second baseman.
Trailing 2-0, Union used a four-run inning in the bottom of the fourth to jump ahead, 4-2—a lead the Dutchmen would later stretch to 5-2 and hold through the final swing of game one.
Game 2 | Feb. 27 | Union 15, Purchase 0
In game two, a pair of Purchase errors and a 2-RBI double from Chris Symington put the Dutchmen ahead, 4-0, in the top of the first inning.
Union didn't look back en route to the shutout win.
Dutchmen starter Chris Murdock (1-0) captured his first win of the season, while Purchase veteran
Nicholas Torres (SR/Cornwall, NY) (1-1) was tagged with his first loss in defeat.
Game 3 | Feb. 28 | Cabrini 6, Purchase 3
Purchase got on the board first in the top of the first, as
John Fitzgerald's (SR/Wantagh, NY) RBI groundout allowed Flynn to advance home. Ferro followed with another RBI groundout, pushing
Patrick Wallace across home plate and giving Purchase a 2-0 advantage.
Purchase tacked on a third run in the top of the second on a RBI single from Hill. The Panthers would hold the 3-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth.
Cabrini began to chip away in the fifth, scoring its first run of the game on a Mack McKisson RBI single. The Cavaliers added another run in the seventh before propelling their way to victory with a four-run inning in the eighth.
Five pitchers saw the mound for Purchase, as junior newcomer
Ryan Kozersky (Mount Kisco, NY) earned his first start as a Panther. He retired 17 of the 24 batters he faced, allowing one run and three walks, while striking out four over 5.1 innings of work.
Michael Laskowski (JR/Floral Park, NY) pitched the bottom of the sixth in relief, followed by
Ryan Castrataro (FR/Mahopac, NY) in the seventh.
Jemal Betances (SO/Bronx, NY) took the mound with two outs left in the seventh and returned for the eighth before giving up the game-winning run and recording his first loss of the season. Rookie
Ethan Herman (FR/Wantagh, NY) made his collegiate debut to close the game.
Game 4 | Feb. 28 | Purchase 6, NVU-Lyndon 1
The Panthers used early offense and a solid effort on the mound to earn a 6-1 win over the Hornets of Northern Vermont University-Lyndon in game two on Friday.
Starter
Cody Hennequin (SR/Milford, CT) (1-0) set the tone for the game, retiring 25 of the 30 batters he faced. The Panther ace put in eight innings of work—striking out four and giving up just one run on three hits and two walks—en route to his first win of the season.
Betances' RBI plated the game-winning run in the bottom of the first. Purchase continued fire away at the plate, capping the game at 12 hits from seven different players.
Game 5 | Feb. 29 | Widener 8, Purchase 5
Widener got on the board first in the top of the opening inning on a Matt Samson RBI groundout to the second baseman.
Purchase fired back in the bottom half of the inning with two runs. Center fielder and leadoff man
Gavin Brien (SR/Brooklyn, NY) walked and later came around to score on Ferro's RBI single.
Nick Lasala (SR/Massapequa Park, NY) followed with a triple into the gap to bring Ferro around to score.
The Pride tied the game at 2-apiece in the top of the third and kept the rally going with four more runs over the next three innings.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Kade Jones (1-1) settled in and allowed just one earned run in his final 4.2 innings of work. Jake Good came in to finish the game off and picked up the save.
Leading 6-4 in the eighth, the Pride added an insurance run on an error and got the homerun from Justin Costanzo in the ninth to secure the win.
Up Next
Purchase will open its home slate against The College at Brockport Golden Eagles on March 7. The non-conference doubleheader is slated for 11 a.m.
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