March 25, 2011
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Kevin Fuqua pitched into the ninth inning and did not walk a batter in a 2-1 win over Fordham to open conference play on a brisk Friday afternoon at Hank DeVincent Field.
"This was a big win for us," said head coach Mike Lake. "I know we've won nine in a row, but in my mind its just one, that's how big conference play is."
The Explorers (13-8, 1-0) took the early lead in the second inning when Jon Gyles led off the frame with a walk. Two batters later, Marc Schoch drove home Gyles with a sac fly to center putting La Salle on top 1-0.
Fuqua allowed his only run of the ballgame in the fifth on a solo home run by Stephen McSherry. It was the first hit allowed by Fuqua in the contest who also retired the first nine batters in order. The righty went 8-plus innings allowing just the one run off four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
"Coach File and I worked on my mechanics earlier in the week and we sped up my delivery," Fuqua said. "It really helped me keep a good pace on the mound and I think it's one of the reasons why I was able to be successful today."
La Salle retook the lead in the bottom half of the fifth on a Joe Bennie RBI single that plated Schoch. Bennie went 1-for-3 on the day with the RBI and Schoch, who led off the frame with a double, went 1-for-1 with a pair of sacrifices, a run scored and an RBI.
Jeff Flax paced the La Salle offense going 3-for-4 while raising his batting average to .345, third best on the team. Schoch overtook Adam Kammler for the team lead in batting average with a .377 clip.
After Fuqua allowed the lead off man in the ninth to reach and his pitch count had climbed north of 100, Lake quickly called on Pat Christensen to slam the door.
The closer delivered with his fifth save of the season by retiring the final three batters of the game in order, two via the strikeout.
The two teams will continue the three game series on Saturday at noon. LHP Eric Van Wyk will get the start for La Salle. He will be opposed by RHP Max Krakowiak (2-2, 5.60) for Fordham.
