PURCHASE, N.Y. – Following a week filled with rained out contests, the Purchase College softball team was forced to compete against two of the top Skyline Conference teams in a pair of mid-week doubleheaders.  

The Panthers dropped the first two games, 14-0 and 14-0, at neighboring Manhattanville College on Wednesday, and returned to the Purchase diamond on Thursday, falling 3-1 and 15-0 to Farmingdale State on Thursday.

vs. Manhattanville

The longest win streak in all of NCAA Division III went to the Manhattanville softball team following Wednesday's doubleheader. belongs to the Manhattanville as the Valiants collected their 25th and 26th consecutive wins with a doubleheader sweep of Purchase on Wednesday afternoon. 

The Valiants teamed up for a 16-hit performance in the 14-0 opener and plated nine runs in the first inning of game two en route to another 14-0 (5 inning) victory.

Vs. Farmingdale

The visiting Rams plated the first run of the game in the top of the first inning, but Purchase evened the score with a run of its own in the bottom of the second frame.
Senior outfielder Alexandria Perez (Bronx, NY) got things started for the Panthers after smashing a double down the left field line. With Perez at second and two outs on the board, Katherine Combe (SO/Brooklyn, NY) singled to left center for the game-tying RBI.

A pair of fourth-inning singles from Rebecca Bronzi (SO/Lagrangville, NY) and Jade D'Errico (JR/Wantagh, NY), respectively, put Purchase in position to take the lead but a fielder's choice would retire the inning, leaving two Panthers stranded on the base paths.

Senior pitcher Tara Sasso (North Rockland, NY) tossed scoreless third, fourth and sixth innings, giving up just one run and two walks against 13 Farmingdale batters. 

The Rams, however, broke through in the fifth with one run and tacked on another in the seventh to take back the lead, 3-1.  Freshman pitcher Deanna Ebert limited the Purchase bats to just two hits over the final three innings to secure the win.

After finding its rhythm late in the opener, Farmingdale kept tempo and went on to score runs in every inning of game two.

Jenna Giliberti went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI to lead the Ram offense. Ebert (2-0) returned to the circle for the nightcap, tossing five innings of 3-hit, 1-walk, 5-strikeout softball. The notable performance earned the rookie Ram her first career complete-game shutout.

Purchase will return to action this weekend at home, opening with a Skyline doubleheader against Mount Saint Mary on Saturday followed by a Senior Day twin bill against St. Joseph's University (Brooklyn) on Sunday.

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