Purchase, NY - The John Jay baseball team concluded the weekend on Sunday morning, playing two against the Purchase College Panthers, falling 7-2 in game one and 9-3 in game two.

The Bloodhounds fall to 1-10, while the Panthers move to 2-7.

Game 1 | John Jay 2, Purchase 7
A six-run third inning proved to be the difference Sunday morning as the Bloodhounds fell in the opener of the doubleheader, 7-2, to the Panthers.

John Jay collected five hits, highlighted by run-scoring knocks from James Horodyski and Lucas Perez, while Alex Daly, Dennis Mercado, and Hayden Tackett also recorded hits in the contest.

The contest opened up as a tight pitching battle between John Jay's Thiago Telles and Purchase's Brian Saldana. Telles worked around an early single in the bottom of the first, aided by a key double play when a line drive back to the mound. He followed that with a clean second inning, striking out Tyler Della Mura before retiring the next two Panthers to keep the game scoreless. 

Saldana matched him early, retiring the first six Bloodhound hitters. John Jay went down in order in both the first and second innings as the two pitchers traded zeros through the opening frames.

Purchase broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning. After a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases, Jared Rosa delivered the biggest swing of the game, launching a grand slam to right field to give the Panthers a 4–0 advantage. 

The inning continued to unravel as Purchase added two more runs later in the frame. RBI singles from Patrick Reyes plated Michael Pagano and Frank Rega, extending the Panthers' lead to 6–0 after a seven-hit inning.

Purchase added another run in the fourth inning when Pagano lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Rosa after he had doubled down the line earlier in the inning to make it 7–0.

The Bloodhounds responded with its best offensive stretch in the top of the fifth. After Daly singled up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch, Horodyski delivered the Bloodhounds' first run of the game with a double to right field.

Moments later, Perez lined a single to right to bring Horodyski home, trimming the deficit to 7–2. The Bloodhounds continued to threaten as Dennis Mercado followed with a single to put two runners on, but Saldana regrouped and induced a strikeout and groundout to escape the inning without further damage.

John Jay turned to Alex Morrissey in relief in the fifth inning, and the right-hander delivered a strong performance out of the bullpen. Morrissey tossed two scoreless innings, retiring all six batters he faced while generating five groundouts to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard the rest of the way. 

John Jay threatened again in the sixth when Tackett opened the inning with a double to left field, and Sebastian Sanchez drew a walk. However, Purchase escaped the jam with a double play and a groundout to end the frame.

The Panthers then turned to reliever Sean Fanning in the seventh, who closed the game with a perfect inning to secure the win.

Horodyski finished 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Perez added a hit and an RBI. Daly scored a run as part of his 1-for-3 performance, and Tackett contributed a double and a walk.

On the mound, Telles (1–1) took the loss after allowing seven runs over four innings. Morrissey provided a bright spot for the Bloodhounds with two scoreless frames in relief.

Rosa led the Panthers offensively, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, double, and four RBIs.

Game 2 | John Jay 3, Purchase 9
In game two, the Bloodhounds battled back to briefly tie the game in the third inning, but Purchase responded with steady offense and capitalized on free baserunners to secure a 9–3 win

Purchase starter Louis Gonzalez earned the win to move to 1–1 after allowing three runs—only one earned—across six innings. John Jay's Michael Sgobbo took the loss (0–1), surrendering six runs in 2.1 innings.

Purchase struck first in the bottom of the second inning, taking advantage of patient at-bats and traffic on the bases. After a leadoff single and a stolen base by Patrick Reyes, the Panthers loaded the bases.

A walk drawn by Dominick Coniglio forced in the game's first run before Tristen Abreu was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home another. A sacrifice fly from Jared Rosa capped the inning, giving Purchase a 3–0 lead despite only recording one hit in the frame.

Sgobbo managed to limit further damage, but the Panthers' patience at the plate set the tone for the afternoon. John Jay responded immediately in the top of the third inning with its most productive offensive stretch of the day. 

Mark Piri ignited the rally with a bunt single before Dennis Mercado reached on a fielding error to put two runners aboard. After a sacrifice bunt by Matthew Apostolou moved both runners into scoring position, Jayden Dixon grounded out to shortstop to plate Piri and cut the deficit to 3–1.

Moments later, Hayden Tackett delivered the Bloodhounds' biggest hit of the afternoon—a double to left-center field that scored Mercado. Tackett later crossed the plate on a wild pitch after Sebastian Sanchez reached base, tying the game at 3–3.

The momentum swing proved short-lived as Purchase answered with a decisive bottom half of the third inning. A double by Reyes started the rally before a walk to Robert Nunez set the table. Christian Galarza then singled through the left side to bring home the go-ahead run.

With runners still aboard, Coniglio delivered the biggest blow of the frame, lining a two-run single through the right side to score both Galarza and Nunez and push the Panthers back in front, 6–3. The inning marked the end of the day for Sgobbo, who was relieved by Danny Opramolla. 

The Panthers continued to add insurance in the fourth inning. After a single by Rega and a sacrifice bunt moved the runner into scoring position, Nunez singled through the left side to score another run and make it 7–3.

Later in the inning, Coniglio was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home an additional run to stretch the lead to five. Purchase added its final run in the fifth when Nunez collected his second RBI single of the afternoon, scoring Rega to make it 9–3. 

Despite the early damage, the Bloodhounds' bullpen stabilized the game over the final innings. Opramolla worked 1.1 innings and allowed two runs—only one earned—before handing the ball to Alex Morrissey, who struck out one while allowing a run across 1.1 frames. Saujan Christie finished the afternoon strong, tossing a scoreless sixth inning and inducing a double play to keep Purchase from extending its lead further. 

John Jay recorded six hits on the afternoon. Mercado led the offense with two hits, while Sanchez also finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Tackett scored once and drove in a run with his RBI double. Piri added a hit and a run scored, while Dixon drove in the Bloodhounds' first run of the game. 

For Purchase, Nunez was the standout performer, going 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two RBIs while drawing two walks. Coniglio drove in a game-high four runs, and Reyes added two hits and a run scored.

Gonzalez kept the Bloodhounds off balance through six innings, limiting John Jay to five hits while generating soft contact and fly balls. The Panthers turned to Isaiah Rubin-Patel in the seventh, who closed the game by inducing a double play before striking out Dixon to end the contest.

John Jay threatened briefly in the seventh when Mercado singled to open the frame, but a double play erased the runner and halted the comeback attempt.

The Bloodhounds are back on the diamond on Tuesday, March 17, as they travel to Maritime for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch.