PURCHASE, NY – Sean Riera (Miami, FL) hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to give the City College of New York baseball team (1-1) a 4-3 victory over Purchase (1-1) in the second game of a season-opening doubleheader on Saturday.  The Panthers took game one of the twinbill by a 2-1 count at the Purchase College Baseball Field.

After the Beavers left two runners on base in the eighth inning, Parker Stemkowski (West Nyack, NY) and Alex Erwin (Aliso Viejo, CA) worked around a pair of walks in the top of the ninth.  Cooper York (Madison, WI) then led off the bottom half of the inning with a hustle double on a popup that the Purchase third baseman lost in the sun.  Stephen Peters (Cortlandt Manor, NY) was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second for Riera, who sent one to the wall in right to drive in York with the winning run.

Riera also knocked in the Beavers' first run, when he singled home Hamley Volquez (Bronx, NY), who had doubled in the bottom of the first.  Purchase responded with a run in the second and another in the fourth to take the lead.

With one down in the bottom of the sixth, Josh Moreno (Portland, OR) reached on an error and Ethan Angress (Mt. Sinai, NY) followed with a double down the left field line.  Griffin Bell (Ridge, NY) was up next, and he deposited a double to the gap in right center that scored both runners and gave the Beavers a 3-2 lead. 

However, Purchase got one in the top of the seventh, tying the game at 3-3.  Despite a leadoff double by York (who was thrown out trying to extend it to a triple) in the bottom of the seventh, CCNY didn't score, and the contest went into extra innings.  Neither team scored in the eighth before the Beavers' run in the ninth, which secured their first Opening Day win since 2010.

Erwin (1-0) retired the only batter he faced to earn the win.  Stemkowski went the first 8.2 innings, yielding three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and five walks.  Offensively, the Beavers tallied 11 hits, with Bell and York both recording a pair of doubles.  Riera and Volquez each had two hits, as well.

For the Panthers, Nick Lasala went 2-for-4 and Patrick Wallace scored two runs.  Matthew Nilsen, meanwhile, finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.  Starting pitcher Cody Hennequin lasted 5.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out four and walking two.  Jemal Betances (0-1) took the loss after surrendering one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 1.2 innings.

Game one was a pitchers' duel between Peter Komaroski (Jacksonville Beach, FL) and CJ Owens.  Komaroski yielded just two walks over six innings, while Owens scattered six hits thru four, but was able to wiggle out of trouble each time.

The Beavers finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth, when Angress was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second on Jonathan Rivera's (Islip, NY) sacrifice bunt.  He moved to third on York's groundout, then scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch.  CCNY was unable to add to its lead, though, and entered the seventh clinging to a 1-0 advantage.

Komaroski took a no-hitter into the seventh, but hit leadoff man Nick Lasala.  After a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk, Gavin Brien ripped a single to right center that drove in two runs.  It was Purchase's only hit of the game, but it was enough to give the Panthers a 2-1 win.

CCNY had 11 hits in game one, with Volquez going 3-for-4 and Riera ripping a pair of doubles.  Moreno also recorded two hits in the contest.  Komaroski (0-1), meanwhile, took the tough-luck loss.  He lasted 6.1 innings, surrendered just the two runs (one earned) on one hit, struck out four and walked three.  Erwin issued a walk over the final 0.2 innings.

Owens tossed 4.2 innings for the Panthers.  He allowed one run on eight hits and struck out one.  Nicholas Torres (1-0) earned the win after giving up only three hits over 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Up next for CCNY is a two-day, four-game trip to Maryland next weekend.  The Beavers visit Stevenson (1-1) for a doubleheader next Saturday before traveling to Hood (0-1) next Sunday for another twinbill.