SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The La Salle baseball team will take its final weekend break from Atlantic 10 play when it visits #19/20 San Diego in a three-game set beginning on Friday. The trip will be a homecoming for junior closer Pat Christensen, who grew up in La Jolla, a 20-minute trip from campus. Junior southpaw Ryan Donahue grew up two hours away in Huntington Beach.  

Pitching Matchup

LHP Eric Van Wyk (3-2, 3.18) vs. RHP Calvin Drummond ( 6-2, 2.97)
RHP Kevin Christy (1-1, 2.55) vs. RHP Dylan Covey (4-2, 2.83)
LHP Ryan Donahue (1-0, 3.21) vs. TBA

Scouting the Explorers (16-16)

La Salle got back on the winning track on Wednesday with an 11-4 victory at Penn in mid-week non-conference action. The Explorers took advantage of nine walks and four hit batters, while recording nine hits at the plate.

Sophomore George Smith, Jr. led the way against the Quakers, driving in four runs. Smith, Jr. now is hitting an even .300 and is third on the team in RBI.

Senior Jeff Flax (two hits, two RBI) and junior Dan Klem (two hits, three RBI) both contributed against UP and are among the top offensive players for the Blue and Gold. Flax paces the team in hitting at .310, while Klem is up to .306 with a team-high 22 RBI. 

Junior Joe Bennie (.299), senior Adam Kammler (.293) and senior Marc Schoch (.291) are also nearing the .300 mark. Kammler is fifth nationally in hit by pitches (14) and is second in the A-10 in on-base percentage at .491, while senior Brendan Norton is second nationally in walks (43). He is tied with Kammler in on-base percentage as well.

On the mound, Van Wyk, Christy and Donahue form one of the league's most consistent starting rotations. Van Wyk paces the team in wins and innings. He is moving up on La Salle's all-time lists and now is third in innings (241.2), fifth in career wins (13) and sixth in strikeouts (153). His 3.18 ERA is tenth in the A-10.

Christy is seventh in the league in ERA at (2.55) and continues to pace the Atlantic 10 in strikeouts (54). Opponents are batting just .222 against the righty. He is three strikeouts away from moving into third all-time at La Salle.

Donahue, a transfer from Long Beach State, is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA. He has struck out 39 batters in 28 innings while appearing in a team-high 18 games.

Christensen, who like Donahue will be returning home, leads the Atlantic 10 with eight saves and is 19^th nationally. He has played a part in 11 of La Salle's 16 wins this season. The right-hander has walked just three batters against 40 strikeouts.

Scouting the #19/20 Toreros (26-8)

San Diego is ranked 19^th by Collegiate Baseball and 20^th by Baseball America, marking the seventh straight season the Toreros have been in the national polls. USD is 13-3 at home and have won 11 of its last 13 contests overall.

San Diego boasts one of the top offensives in the country, ranking eighth in batting average (.320), eighth in doubles (72), and 11^th in slugging percentage (.460).

Individually, Kris Bryant is batting .372 with eight home runs and 37 RBI. The sophomore, who was an 18^th round draft pick out of high school and a third team all-American last season, ranks 13^th in the NCAA in total bases.

The USD pitching staff isn't bad either. It ranks 25^th nationally in ERA (2.97) and 42^nd in hits allowed per nine innings. Calvin Drummond, Friday's starter, is seventh nationally with six wins. Saturday's starter, Dylan Covey, was a first round draft pick (14^th overall) out of high school and is 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA.

Closer Michael Wagner leads the nation in saves (15) and was a 28^th round draft pick out of high school. He has a 1.16 ERA.

Live Coverage

Links to live statistics and streaming video will be available on GoExplorers.com. Video will be available on Saturday and Sunday only.

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