PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - There is just something special about these Panthers!
Like it has have done all season long, the Purchase College baseball team earned a win when it needed it most Friday afternoon, besting the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a do or die matchup, 9-7.
Earlier in the day, the Panthers fell to Maritime College, 14-10, which setup the must-win contest.
Game Two: No. 6 Purchase 9, No. 5 USMMA 7
For the Mariners, they entered needing a win after falling to the No. 1 seed, St. Joseph's University-Long Island, earlier in the day.
As a result, the two sides started quickly and never looked back.
Merchant Marine poured in four runs in the top of the first, before the Panthers scored four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to tie things up.
Patrick Reyes (FR/Plainedge, NY) got the party started with a two-run double, before an error and
Myles Scarry (JR/Levittown, NY) sacrifice fly pushed the run total to four.
Two innings later, the Blue and Orange grabbed the lead for good thanks to an RBI-single from
Frank Rega (FR/West Islip, NY) and a two-run single from
Cameron Cruz (SO/Bronx, NY) to make it 7-4.
USMMA hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth to trim the margin to two runs, before
Tyler Della Mura (FR/Rye Brook, NY) provide the eventual winning run via an RBI-triple, extended the advantage to 8-5.
The Mariners managed to score one run apiece in the seventh and eighth innings, and Della Mura pounded out an RBI-double in-between to make the margin 9-7 in the top of the eighth.
It was at that point that head coach
Adam Taraska called on his breakout closer,
Jemal Betances (SR/Bronx, NY) to secure the game by recording the final out of the eighth and all three outs in the ninth.
Betances did just that for his eighth save of the year, sending the Panthers home with new life heading into tomorrow.
Ryan Castrataro (SR/Mahopac, NY) started on the mound for the Blue and Orange in game two. He went five innings and allowed five runs on six hits, while striking out three in the win.
The day will forever be memorable for Castrataro and Betances, as the duo, along with
Louis Carvell (SR/New York, NY) and
Jackson Lowery (SR/Woodbridge, VA), missed their graduation ceremony to be available to play Friday.
At the plate, Reyes led all players with three hits, as he added three runs and two RBIs. Rega and Della Mura each tallied two hits apiece in the win.
Game One: No. 2 Maritime 14, No. 6 Purchase 10
Before the win to close the day, Purchase opened the afternoon with an offensive shoot-out against Maritime College.
The two sides traded a pair of runs over the first two innings to a 2-2 tie score, before the Privateers exploded later in the second inning to push their lead to 8-2.
The Panthers continued to work though, trimming into the margin numerous times. Over the fourth and fifth innings, the Blue and Orange scored five runs to give them new life as the cut the deficit to just one run.
However, Maritime had an answer every time Purchase responded.
As a result, Maritime scored a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to extend the margin back to five runs, 12-7.
While the Blue and Orange did score three more runs in the loss, they never got closer than down three the rest of the way.
At the plate,
Trevor Zanderzuk (JR/Manorville, NY),
Liam Daly (FR/Babylon, NY), Della Mura and Cruz each finished with two hits apiece.
On the mound, starter
Brandon Reybok (FR/Lindenhurst, NY) was tagged with the loss after he allowed the early-run explosion.
Up next: Skyline Conference Semifinals - Day 2
As a result of the split day, the Panthers are still fighting in the playoffs.
The team will return to action tomorrow (May 13) between 2-3 p.m. against the loser of the St. Joseph's-LI / Maritime matchup, which begins at noon.
If Purchase wins that game, they would head to the Skyline Conference Championship Game for the first time in program history on Sunday (May 14).
However, with a loss, the season would come to an end tomorrow. To follow along, use the links on the schedule page.
