PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle baseball team begins a four-game series vs. New Mexico State on Friday evening in Las Cruces.

La Salle Explorers (2-7) at New Mexico State Aggies (4-8)
Friday, March 8, 2013 | 8:05 PM
Saturday, March 9, 2013 | 5:05 PM
Saturday, March 9, 2013 | 9:05 PM
Sunday, March 10, 2013 | 3:05 PM
Live Statistics | Live Audio

Probable Starters:
March 8: LHP Shawn O'Neill (0-1, 9.00 ERA) vs. RHP Adam Mott (1-1, 3.48 ERA)
March 9 (G1): RHP Shane Hollman (0-1, 8.53 ERA) vs. LHP Ryan Beck (2-0, 3.86 ERA)
March 9 (G2): LHP Ryan Donohue (0-0, 8.16 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Ormseth (0-2, 8.53 ERA)
March 10: TBA vs. LHP Timothy Torsney (0-0, 1.80 ERA)

Scouting the Explorers
La Salle ran into hot New Mexico bats in Albuquerque, dropping both games in an abbreviated two-game set. The Blue and Gold pushed across seven runs and tallied 17 hits in the series, but the Lobos exploded for 36 hits and 33 runs in the sweep.

Justin Korenblatt picked up four hits against the Lobos, extending his hitting streak to five games. He has upped his batting average to .343, third-highest on the club. He also leads the team in total bases with 15. Kevin Baron picked up a pair of hits in the series, maintaining his club lead in batting average (.448). The sophomore has yet to make a fielding error at shortstop this season.

Dan Klem enters the weekend series with a four game multi-hit streak and a .367 batting average. Kevin Conroy has provided some thump in the middle of the Explorer lineup, leading the squad in RBI (6) and runs (7).

As a team, La Salle has notched a .248/.309/.310 slash line thus far. Defensively the Blue and Gold have been solid, posting a .970 fielding percentage.

The Explorer pitching staff comes into the weekend with an 8.19 team ERA after surrendering 32 earned runs in the two games in Albuquerque. Adam Cherry is the line staff member with an unblemished ERA, working four innings out of the bullpen.

Freshman Austin Clark has thrown the ball well in his first four outings, posting a 3.65 ERA with nine strikeouts in 12.1 innings. Pat Christensen was charged with five earned runs on Tuesday evening vs. the Lobos but has managed a save and a win in his first two apperances of the season.

Scouting the Aggies
New Mexico State shut out Wake Forest 4-0 on Sunday, but dropped its previous six. The Aggies were picked third in the Western Athletic Conference preseason and are led by senior infielder Parker Hipp, a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American. Through 12 games, Hipp is slashing .250/.415/.350 and ranks second on the club in runs (7) and RBI (6).

Senior infielder Robert Lecount is the lone Aggie hitting above .300, notching a .316 clip and a share for the team lead in walks (11). Junior outfielder Michael Medina is hitting .263 with a .440 on base percentage behind 10 walks. As a team, NMSU has drawn 79 walks on the season, 17 more than their pitchers have forfeited.

As a team, the Aggies are slashing .216/.353/.304. They have coughed up 22 fielding errors, sitting at a .952 fielding percentage.

New Mexico State's pitching staff has registered a 5.19 team ERA and is led by seniors Adam Mott and Ryan Beck. Mott has struck out 16 in 20.2 innings and Beck has fanned 15 hitters in 14.0 innings of work. The Explorers will likely see Michael Ormseth on game two on Saturday, whom opponents are hitting .362 off of in his three starts. Sunday's projected hurler, junior Timothy Torsney, will get his first start of the year.

Up Next
The Explorers will play three home games against three different opponents beginning on Friday, March 15.