PHILADELPHIA – Pat Christensen and Dan Klem have been named Big 5 Pitcher of the Week and Big 5 Player of the Week, respectively, for games played April 22-28, it was announced today. The tandem led the Explorers to a 2-2 week on the diamond, including a weekend series win over Atlantic 10-rival VCU.

Christensen earned a save in La Salle's 3-1 win on Friday over the Rams, tossing two innings in relief while striking out four batters. The senior followed up  Friday's performance with a sparkling two inning save on Saturday to up his season total to an A-10 leading 10.

The La Jolla, Calif. native is now 5-1 on the year with 10 saves, having earned a win or save in 15 of the Explorers' 20 victories on the season. Working as a reliever, Christensen has amassed a 0.53 ERA with 40 strikeouts and only six walks in 33.2 innings. His 43 careers saves are a program high, a conference high, and tied for sixth-most in NCAA Division I history.

This week's recognition marks the fourth time this season that Christensen has earned the weekly honor.

Klem sported a 9-for-16 (.552) line at the plate in last week's action, notching a multi-hit game in each outing. The senior drove in one of La Salle's four runs in Tuesday's 7-4 setback at Penn State. The Allentown, Pa. native led off Friday's game vs. VCU with a double and later scored in what proved to be a 3-1 Explorer victory. Klem scored the go-ahead run in La Salle's Saturday win over VCU and pounded out three hits in Sunday's series finale.

The Parkland product has raised his season batting average to .342, the ninth highest figure in the conference. He leads the club in hits (51) and stolen bases (5) and has struck out only 12 times in 149 at bats. Klem is batting .500 (15-30) over his past seven games with a .545 on base percentage and .633 slugging percentage.

As a team, the Explorers sit at 20-21 overall and 13-5 in the A-10, good for second in the conference standings. The Blue and Gold will get their conference bye this weekend and will play Delaware in a three game set beginning on Friday at 3 p.m. in Newark. Sunday's game will be played at DeVincent Field at 1 p.m. with senior day festivities set to begin at 12:45.