ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Bard baseball team opened its season on Friday afternoon with a doubleheader against Purchase College, falling 3-1 and 10-7 to the visitors.
 
The games were a belated debut for the Raptors, who have seen several weather-related cancelations and postponements already this semester. The team will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when it hosts Middlebury at Honey Field.
 
"We were really excited to get back out on the field and play after so many delays," said Bard coach Andy Salvatore. "There were some positives we can take from this, and some things for us to work on, but most of all we're looking forward to getting back in action again on Sunday."
 
The first game saw a strong pitching performance from senior Andrew Love, who threw a complete game (7-innings) with four strikeouts in the 3-1 loss. DH Bryant Elliott went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Raptors.
 
In Game 2, Bard scored four runs in the first inning and three more in the third, taking a 7-2 lead. Aidan Risse had a two-run single in the first, and Elliott's third-inning double scored two more. Jared Toby had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

Purchase rallied for four runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to take the 10-7 lead, and the game was called due to light after six innings.
 
After hosting Middlebury on Sunday, the Raptors will be off for several days before heading to Florida for five games starting on March 18.