PURCHASE, N.Y. — The Purchase College baseball team scored four runs and loaded the bases in the ninth but couldn't generate the equalizer in a 9-6 non-conference loss to No. 3 Eastern Connecticut State Tuesday afternoon.
The host Panthers drop to 1-2 on the season, while the Warriors remain undefeated at 4-0 overall.
Eastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and tacked on another four runs over the next five innings before Purchase got on the board in the sixth.
Joe Salerno (SO/White Plains, NY) led off the inning with a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a Sam Saltzman (SO/Plainview, NY) single through the right side. Liam Daly (FR/Babylon, NY) reached on a fielder's choice that forced the out at second but pushed Salerno into scoring position. Frank Rega (FR/West Islip, NY) followed with a RBI single that broke the scoring ice for PC. Daly later came home on a wild pitch as the Panthers trailed 7-2.
In the seventh, ECSU junior Ryan Parent led off with a bomb over the right field fence but rookie reliever Philip Dragovich (FR/New York, NY) used back-to-back strikeouts to retire the frame and get Purchase back to the plate.
Both teams went scoreless in the eighth inning followed by a Warrior tally in the top of the ninth.
Purchase fired back in the bottom half of the frame with four runs on two hits and two walks. Tristen Abreu (FR/Mineola, NY) got things started with a single through the left side. Matt Dragotto (SO/Middle Island, NY) and Tyler Della Mura (FR/Rye Brook, NY) took ball four to load the bases followed a wild pitch that brought Abreu across home plate, 9-3.
Myles Scarry (JR/Levittown, NY) walked to load the bases again, resulting in a Warrior pitching change. Sophomore reliever Nicholas Furino delivered a similar result though, walking two of the next three batters and opening up a game-tying possibility for Purchase. Another Warrior pitching change followed—veteran Warrior and Nicholas' older brother, Nathan Furino.
Daly, a powerhouse hitter for Purchase, was next in line at the plate. His sacrifice flyout to centerfield brought Scarry in from third (9-6) and put the Purchase fans at the edge of their seats, Rega singled through the right side to load the bases once again but Nathan Furino struck out the next batter to secure the win for Eastern and his first save of the season.
Rega led the Panther offense with two hits and one RBI. Daly went 1-for-4 with one RBI, one run scored and a pair of stolen bases, while Saltzman, Abreu, Mason Compton (SO/Carmel, NY) and Jemal Betances (SR/Bronx, NY) recorded one hit apiece.
Eastern and Purchase combined for 15 pitching changes over the nine innings of action. Dan Driscoll recorded the win and Nathan Furino tallied the save. Panther starter Cass Muller was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs (0 ER) on two hits and a pair of walks.
Purchase will have a quick turnaround as the Panthers return to action on Friday at Bard College. First pitch of the non-conference twinbill is set for 1 p.m.
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