PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Purchase College softball team kicked off its 2024 home slate by splitting a pair of contests with Lehman College Saturday afternoon.

Game One: Lehman 7, Purchase 6 (8 inn)

In the opening game, the Panthers struck first, thanks to an RBI-single from Rebecca Bronzi (JR/Lagrangeville, NY).

Two innings later, Melissa Harper (FY/Patchogue, NY) slapped a two-run single to center field, before a wild pitch allowed the Blue and Orange to lead 4-0 after three.

The Lightning got one run back in the fourth, before a throwing error allowed the Panthers to add another tally to their total at 5-1.

In the fifth, Lehman plated its second run, but the 5-2 margin carried into the seventh with the guests down to their final three outs.

It was at that point that things changed. During the frame, Purchase shot itself in the foot with three errors, which allowed the Lightning three runs to tie things up at 5-all entering extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, the rally continued for Lehman as it added two more to push the hosts to their final outs.

While the Panthers got a run back in the stanza off a Tyler Salerno (FY/Kings Park, NY) sacrifice fly, they couldn't added the second necessary run to continue the contest.

In total, the Blue and Orange finished with nine hits as Bronzi, Harper and Samantha Christopher (FY/North Babylon, NY) each collected two apiece. 

On the mound, Abigail Lipkin (SO/Bethlehem, PA) was tagged with the loss despite a solid effort, as she allowed seven runs (just two earned) on 10 hits in the complete game.

Game Two: Purchase 8, Lehman 2

While the first result was a tough pill to swallow, the Panthers rebounded in the final contest to secure their first win of the season.

In the opening inning, after Lehman scored, the hosts answered with three runs of their own. Bronzi provided all three as she hit a two-run single and later scored on a wild pitch.

One inning later, an RBI-single from Salerno extended the lead to 4-1, before Devynn Hernandez (FY/Ossining, NY) hit her own RBI-single.

The guests got a run back in the top of the fifth, making it 5-2, until the hosts exploded in the bottom half of the inning to the tune of three more runs.

The first came from an RBI-groundout from Olivia Goff (FY/Syracuse, NY), before two wild pitches allowed the final two runs to score.

Now leading by the score of 8-2, the Panthers saw no letdown this time around as they secured the win over the final two innings.

In total, Purchase finished with seven hits as Hernandez was the only player to record multiple hits. On the mound, Goff secured the complete-game victory as she stuckout 10 over seven innings of work.

Up next for the Blue and Orange are their first official road games of the season, as they travel to Brooklyn College on March 20th. First pitch for the doubleheader is scheduled for 4 p.m.