PHILADELPHIA -  The La Salle baseball team will make its shortest road trip of the season beginning on Friday when it makes the six-mile jaunt down Route 1 to visit rival Saint Joseph's for a three-game Atlantic 10 series. The games will be the first look for the Explorers are the new Smithson Field, which debuted on SJU's campus this season.

Probable Starters
Friday: LHP Eric Van Wyk (3-7, 3.82) vs. RHP Kyle Mullen (5-4, 3.70)
Saturday: LHP Ryan Donahue (2-3, 2.44) vs. RHP Alex Pracher (4-7, 3.86)
Sunday: RHP Kevin Christy (1-4, 2.76) vs. RHP Jordan Carter (0-4, 3.28)

Scouting the Explorers (18-28, 5-13 A-10)

La Salle will look to knock off its city rivals, who are making a push toward the A-10 Tournament this spring. The Explorers have been off all week due to final examinations. Last weekend, LU won the middle game in a three-game set vs. Xavier at Hank DeVincent Field.

Head coach Mike Lake has given an opportunity to some of his younger players and several had strong weekends against the Musketeers. Freshman Kevin Baron had four hits in two starts and classmate Kevin Conroy slugged his first collegiate home run in Sunday's game. 

The Blue and Gold continue to feature one of the league's top pitching staffs, leading the A-10 in ERA in conference games at 3.03. Junior Ryan Donahue is third in the league in ERA at 2.44, while senior Kevin Christy is seventh at 2.76.

Christy is approaching the school record for strikeouts, needing just five more to break Kevin Fuqua's mark of 222 set last season. He is also fourth all-time in innings pitched in program history.

Senior Eric Van Wyk will get the ball on Friday. He is moving up on a number of all-time lists including wins (13, 5th), strikeouts (177, 6th) and innings pitched (3rd, 267.1). 

At the plate, senior Jeff Flax is batting .315 to lead the team. Senior Marc Schoch (.291) has 12 doubles to pace the squad, while junior Dan Klem (.287) has a team-high 26 RBI. Senior Brendan Norton is second nationally in walks and walks per game. 

Scouting the Hawks (21-26, 11-6 A-10)

Saint Joseph's will be looking to firm up its chances of making the A-10 Tournament for the first time in program history by winning the series against the Explorers. Like La Salle, SJU is bolstered by a strong pitching staff that is second in overall ERA (3.52). 

Senior Kyle Mullen (5-4, 3.70) and senior Alex Pracher (4-7, 3.86) form a potent one-two punch, with both righties having thrown over 80 innings this year. Pracher is the reigning A-10 and Big 5 Pitcher of the Week after throwing a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts vs. George Washington last week.

The bullpen is equally strong, with Steven Schuler (4-1, 2.14, 3 saves) and Kevin Burum (0-2, 2.12, 4 saves) receiving most of the late-game situations.

The Hawks are batting just .231 as a team, led by Kevin Kratchowill's .314. 

Live Coverage
Gametracker will be available for all three games this weekend.