Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The La Salle baseball team got on the board first with three runs in the opening frame but Villanova came back to defeat the Explorers, 7-5, on Wednesday at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. Senior Marc Schoch and freshman Justin Korenblatt each had a pair of hits for La Salle.

A one-out single by senior Jeff Flax started the three-run first. Classmate Brendan Norton then tripled Flax home for a 1-0 lead and then scored on senior Jon Gyles' single. Gyles moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt and then crossed the plate when Schoch singled to left.

The Wildcats (20-18) scored the next seven runs off a slew of La Salle pitchers. A two-run double by Marlon Calbi cut the Explorer lead to 3-2 in the second. LU held the lead until the sixth when Matt Fleishman drove in a run to tie the game.

Villanova scored four in the seventh with Kevin Wager's two-run single giving the hosts a lead they would not relinquish. Nova added two more in the inning to take a 7-3 advantage.

La Salle (16-20) responded in the top of the eighth to score two runs. Junior Dan Klem singled to lead off the inning and Norton, the nation's leader in walks, was issued a base on balls. Freshman Ryan Welling was hit to load the bases and a fielder's choice by senior Adam Kammler made it 7-4. With two outs, Korenblatt singled to short to cut the deficit to two but the Explorers couldn't get any closer.

Seven La Salle pitchers saw time on the mound. Sophomore Dominic Sgroi pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and freshman Mark Williams pitched a shutout eighth inning for the Blue and Gold. Freshman Derek Prucnal suffered the loss after allowing one earned run in 0.2 innings.

For Villanova, Tyler Sciacca and Wager had four hits apiece. JB Kole earned the win, despite allowing two earned runs in an inning. Julian Diaz picked up the save by pitching the final two innings.

La Salle visits Fordham in a three-game Atlantic 10 series beginning on Friday night.