PURCHASE, N.Y. – Purchase College softball concluded its 2023 campaign with a Skyline Conference and Senior Day doubleheader against St. Joseph's University (Brooklyn) at home on Sunday afternoon. Despite a valiant effort from the entire Panther lineup, the hosts dropped both ends of the twin bill, 11-0 and 4-1, respectively. 

In-between games, Purchase celebrated its five seniors with a Senior Day ceremony. Karina Medina (Brooklyn, NY), Erin Mullen (Woodlawn, NY), Brianna Palermo (Hyde Park, NY), Alexandria Perez (Bronx, NY) and Tara Sasso (North Rockland, NY) were individually recognized for their accomplishments and contributions both on and off the field. 

Game One: St. Joe's 11, Purchase 0
St. Joseph juniors Arianna Heinsch and Bella Gomez produced back-to-back doubles to left center to open action and scoring in the top of the first inning,  The Bears added another run in the second and six more in the third to stretch its advantage to 8-0. 

SJU batted in the final runs of the game on a Gomez 2-RBI double to right center in the fourth. 

Bear pitcher Brooke Horn improved to 11-4 on the season after striking out four, walking none, while giving up just four hits over five innings of work.

For Purchase, Sasso (6-20) went 2.1 innings, while Palermo (0-1) closed out the final 2.2 innings. The senior duo gave up just four combined earned runs, but Panther fielding errors allowed for an additional seven unearned runs.

Palermo, Sasso, Malena Santia (FR/Rye, NY) and Jade D'Errico (SO/Wantagh, NY) produced one run apiece to lead the Purchase offense in Sunday's opener. 

Game Two: St. Joe's 4, Purchase 1
The Senior Day ceremony that followed game one recharged the Panthers for the nightcap. 

Sasso returned to the circle for the home side and was strong through the first four frames, limiting the visitors to just three hits during the stretch. 

Then, in the bottom of the fourth with one out remaining, Purchase got its first knock and lead of the day. Perez kicked things off with a two-bagger that hugged the left field line. Santia stepped up to the plate next, smacked one to right field and reached  on an error by the outfielder. The catch—which would have retired the inning—was dropped, allowing for Perez to score, unearned. 
 
The Bears clawed back to take the lead in the fifth following a 2-RBI homerun from junior Autumn Poppett.

Up 2-1 to start the bottom of the fifth, SJU brought in relief pitcher Leila Heller. The right-hander held Purchase hitless over the final three innings, while the SJU bats tallied two more runs in the seventh en route to the 4-1 win. 

Sasso pitched the full 7.0 innings for Purchase, allowing for four runs to score on eight hits and five walks. She led all pitchers on the day, tossing a combined 151 across 9.1 innings.

Senior Day Ceremony Script
written by head coach Mark Sergio

#13 Karina Medina - Karina was recruited to the Panther softball team by other players to help us field a team when we had low roster numbers. Karina is a 3 sport athlete and, even though she did not have a lot of softball experience, her athleticism showed through immediately. Her hard work  and athleticism made her into our stating left fielder and our team's Most Improved Player this year. Karina is the voice that is always heard. Win , lose or draw, Karina is always stays  positive and is the one player supporting and cheering her teammates on. She enters today's doubleheader with a career total of 62 appearances and 48 starts, playing outfield in the flex position, and enters today's twin bill with a 52 putouts and a .795 fielding average. 

#10 Erin Mullen - Erin is another player that came to our program in a year when we had low roster numbers. Erin was always asking for ways to improve. She is extremely coachable and has the desire to get better. Whatever position we asked Erin to play, she  jumped at the chance to help the team. Without Erin's versatility and willingness to help the team, there were games that without Erin, we would not have been able to field a team.  Erin was our MVP in more than a few games by playing wherever she was needed. She enters today's doubleheader with 36 appearances and six starts.

#4 Brianna Palermo - Brianna has been a starter all 4 years as a Purchase Panther. She came to our team as an unknown walk-on and immediately showed her ability as both a n athlete and as a team leader. Bri has been an extremely versatile softball player and has actually played all 9 position on the field during her 4 years. Brianna has been one of our top hitters every year. She has been a team captain and has shown leadership not only on the field but also off the field as a mentor to our younger. She has been a true Student Athlete and epitomizes what a D3 athlete is  with her high GPA and involvement in the Purchase College community. She enters today's doubleheader with a 3-year career total 61 hits, including 13 doubles, 3 triples, 19 RBI and 41 runs across 82 starts.

#2 Alexandria Perez - Alex came to Purchase as a transfer and immediately cemented her role as our Center Fielder. Alex tracks down every  ball that is near her and has made more than a few "ESPN " catches in her career. Alex has been a Panther captain for 2 years. She is the quiet leader of the team but is always directing players on the field and being the field general. She enters today's doubleheader with a 3-year career total of 51 hits, including 17 doubles, 2 triples and 3 home runs, to go along with 25 RBI across 80 starts.

#19 Tara Sasso - Tara was recruited to play softball here at Purchase originally out of high school. She chose to attend another school but eventually "saw the light" and came to Purchase to complete her final 2 years. Tar accepted every challenge we put in front of her as being our only TRUE pitcher for the 2023 season. Tara put in countless hours both in season and off season getting herself prepared the our season. She was both an official team leader , as one of our captains this year, and an unofficial team leader in her first year year, being a shoulder to lean on and sounding border for many of our underclassmen. Tara enters today having pitched 153 innings with 93 strikeouts across two seasons in the circle.