PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Purchase College baseball team celebrated Senior Day Sunday afternoon, before dropping a pair of close losses to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a Skyline Conference matchup.

Prior to first pitch, the Panthers took to the field to honor nine members of their squad - Sam Saltzman, Matthew Ramos, Mason Compton, Joe Salerno, Matthew Deall, Justin Lorenzo, Matthew Dragotto, Myles Scarry and Elian Herrera - in a wonderful ceremony.

During the event, head coach Adam Taraska, assistant coach Mark Jurczak and Purchase College President Milly Pena all welcomed the individuals with gifts and photos as prepared words were read for them in a riveting ceremony.

The team then joined together for one final picture, celebrating all the memories and days still to come.

Following the ceremony, the focus shifted quickly as the Blue and Orange prepared for the foe ahead - the Mariners of USMMA.

Game One: USMMA 6, Purchase 2 (7 inn.)

To begin, the Panthers struck first, thanks to an RBI-single from Evan Biener (FY/Hillsdale, NJ) in the first inning.

From there, the guests scored five in a row over the third through fifth innings, before Salerno (White Plains, NY) smacked an RBI-single of his own.

In the end, the guests added one more tally to make it 6-2, where it eventually finished.

At bat, Purchase recorded six hits with Biener being the only player with two hits, including a double.

On the mound, Brandon Reybok (JR/Lindenhurst, NY) tossed a complete game, as he allowed six runs (two earned) on 12 hits over seven innings.

Game Two: USMMA 10, Purchase 6

In the second contest, the hosts again struck first with an early run, as Frank Rega (JR/West Islip, NY) hit an RBI-groundout to get things started in the first inning.

However, the advantage was short lived as Merchant Marine responded with five runs in the top of the second to grab the lead the rest of the game.

For the Panthers, Saltzman (Old Bethpage, NY) answered by smacking his first collegiate home run in the second, a solo shot to deep right center, trimming the margin to 5-2.

Over the rest of the innings, the guests added five more runs, before Purchase scored four in the ninth to put the final score in shouting distance, 10-6.

At the plate, the hosts finished with nine hits, as Saltzman and Salerno each had two apiece.

On the hill, Christian Miesegaes (SO/Staten Island, NY) went seven innings, allowing eight runs (three earned) on 10 hits.

With the results, the Panthers moved to 8-20 overall and 5-7 in the Skyline Conference. For the Mariners, they jumped to 15-10 and 7-1, respectively. 

Up next for the squad is a road Skyline matchup, as the Panthers take on Old Westbury in a doubleheader on April 19th. First pitch is set for noon.