PHILADELPHIA - La Salle, winners of eight of its last 10 games, will return to DeVincent Field this weekend to host Atlantic 10 rival Richmond in a three-games series beginning on Friday at 3 PM. Live statistics will be available for all three games. Please note that Sunday's game will begin at 1:30 PM due to women's lacrosse hosting St. Bonaventure at McCarthy Stadium at 11:30 AM. 

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Friday, 3:00 PM
LHP Eric Van Wyk (3-2, 3.52) vs. RHP Jacob Mayers (4-2, 6.51)

Game 2: Saturday, 1:00 PM
RHP Kevin Christy (1-0, 2.50) vs. LHP Zak Sterling (2-1, 5.24)

Game 3: Sunday, 1:30 PM
TBA vs. RHP Ryan Cook (2-1, 4.78)

Scouting the Explorers (14-10, 2-1 A-10)

The Explorers took two out of three last weekend at George Washington and captured a Liberty Bell Classic first round game over Lafayette on Tuesday, 11-2. 

Junior Joe Bennie (.326) leads a group of six Explorers that are batting over .300 for head coach Mike Lake's squad. Bennie also leads the team with four home runs and is third with 15 RBI. Senior Adam Kammler (.321), senior Marc Schoch (.318, team-high 10 doubles and 17 RBI) and senior Jeff Flax (.302) join underclassmen, sophomore George Smith, Jr. (.301) and junior Dan Klem (.301) over the .300 mark. 

Several players are moving their way up the all-time statistical lists at 20th and Olney. Flax has moved into eighth on La Salle's all-time hit list (205) while Schoch is sixth all-time with 42 doubles.

As a team, La Salle is 16th nationally in walks with senior Brendan Norton continuing to lead the nation. Flax is the ninth toughest to strike out and Schoch is 13th nationally in sacrifice flies.

On the mound, the Explorers lead the A-10 in strikeouts and are third in least walks allowed. Eric Van Wyk, Friday's starter, is now fifth all-time in wins (13) while  Christy, Saturday's starter, is now fourth all-time in strikeouts (185). Christy leads the A-10 in strikeouts and is 28th in the country. 

Junior closer Pat Christensen broke the La Salle, Big 5 and Atlantic 10 career mark for saves with 30 last weekend at George Washington and will be profiled in Saturday's "SportsWeek", a publication produced by the Philadelphia Daily News.He is 15th nationally in saves and is four saves away from ranking in the top 25 all-time in NCAA history.

Scouting the Spiders  (13-9, 0-0 A-10)

Richmond comes in with an overall record of 13-9 and this weekend will be the first A-10 series of the season. UR has been terrific at the plate this season, especially when it comes to playing long-ball.  The Spiders lead the country with 39 home runs this season and also rank second in slugging (.520) and fourth in the nation in OPS (.916).  

Senior Phil Ruzbarsky leads the team with a .400 batting average, while classmate Chris Cowell is tied for second in the country with 11 homers on the campaign.

On the mound, freshman Andrew Blum has posted a 3-1 record and a team-best 3.99 ERA to lead the Spiders' staff.  Junior Jacob Mayers leads the team with four wins on the year and has struck out 37 batters in 37.1 innings pitched.  Sophomore Andrew Brockett has three saves out of the bullpen for Richmond.

La Salle pitching coach John Duffy is a former Richmond pitcher and 1996 UR graduate.

Live Coverage

Live statistics of all three games will be available on GoExplorers.com. Also be sure to sign up for free text alerts to receive scores at the conclusion of all baseball games. You can select specific sports to receive updates from.