Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. – Senior Adam Kammler hit a solo home run in the 12^th inning to give La Salle a 2-1 victory over Fordham in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Houlihan Park. The victory salvaged a split for the Explorers, who dropped game one by a 3-1 score.

Junior closer Pat Christensen (4-2) pitched a career-high 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out three, to earn the win in game two.

At the plate, junior Joe Bennie led the Blue and Gold with four hits in the twinbill, including a pair of doubles. Senior Jeff Flax   and junior Dan Klem each had three hits.

La Salle improves to 17-22 and 4-8 in the Atlantic 10. Fordham is 17-25, 9-6 in the A-10.

Game One:

Junior Ryan Donahue again gave the Explorers a chance to win with a solid effort on the mound, throwing seven innings and allowing three earned runs. He suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 as the visitors were unable to get the offense going in dropping a 3-1 defeat.

In Donahue's three Atlantic 10 starts, La Salle has scored a total of two runs. His 2.83 ERA is second on the team behind senior Kevin Christy (2.59). 

Fordham scored one in the second on a Mike Mauri single, who then moved to second on a bunt, third on a groundout and scored on a two-out wild pitch. Two more for the Rams in the fourth on RBI singles by Stephen McSherry and Brian Kownacki made it 3-0 for the hosts.

La Salle put runners on first and third with one out in the second and had a runner thrown out at third in the third on a squeeze attempt. The Explorers got on the board in the seventh to cut the deficit to 3-1 when Bennie doubled with one out. He scored on sophomore George Smith, Jr.'s two-out single.

LU was able to put runners on in the eighth and ninth but neither advanced into scoring position.

Flax, Klem and Smith, Jr. each had two hits in the defeat. Freshman Adam Cherry pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

For Fordham, Joseph Charest (4-6) threw a complete game, striking out eight. He allowed one earned run.
Mauri had two hits for the Rams.

Game Two:

La Salle played its longest game of the season in the nightcap and the longest since a 6-5, 13-inning victory over Dayton on May 25, 2011 in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Kammler picked the perfect time for his first home run of the season, and second of his career, in the twelfth when he led off the inning with a blast to right-center.

With the score tied 1-1, the Blue and Gold had chances to win the contest in the eighth and eleventh innings. Freshman Justin Korenblatt, who quietly has a seven-game hitting streak, led off with a doubled and moved to third on a groundout. He tried to score the go-ahead run on a ground-out to shortstop but was called out.

In the eleventh, Klem singled with one out and tried to score on Bennie's double to left but was thrown out at the plate.

Meanwhile, Christensen was working out of jams in the bottom of innings. In the eighth, he came into the game with one out and runners on first and third before inducing a double-play on a bunt attempt to end the inning.

He got out of a second and third, one-out jam in the tenth with a groundout and a strikeout and in the twelfth, with runners on first and second and one out, he recorded a strikeout and groundout to end the game.

Christy again had a fine effort on the mound. He picked up the no-decision after throwing 7.1 innings, allowing one run and striking out eight. The North Penn grad now needs 15 strikeouts to become the all-time leader at La Salle.

Senior Marc Schoch, who had two hits in the game, singled home La Salle's only run before Kammler's home run in the seventh. Senior Tony Negrin, a native of nearby New Rochelle, N.Y., and Bennie also had multiple hits for La Salle.

Jeremy Adel threw four shutout innings of relief for Fordham while Tim Swatek (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing one earned run in one inning.

Swatek, McSherry, Mauri and Ryan Maghini each had two hits for the Rams.

La Salle returns to the diamond on Tuesday at Delaware State. First pitch is 3 PM.