Box Score
Box Score (PDF)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The La Salle baseball team was downed, 5-2, by Rhode Island in a sloppy affair in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championships at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium. Rhode Island's Mike Bradstreet worked around four Rhody errors, earning his eighth win of the season with a complete game performance. The Blue and Gold will look to stave off elimination tonight against Richmond, who dropped their earlier game vs. Charlotte.

Rhode Island (35-22) opened up the scoring in the ballgame in the third, using two singles and a throwing error by Collin McGowan to take an early lead.

The Explorers (24-28) countered with two of their own in the fifth. Freshman Joey Ravert (2-3, run) led off the frame with a single through right side and advanced to third when a Ryan Welling sacrifice bunt was thrown away. Junior George Smith, Jr. (0-4, RBI) then smacked a grounder that was mishandled by the third baseman to plate Ravert and put runners on first and second. After a McGowan (0-4) strikeout, senior Dan Klem (1-4, RBI) beat out a grounder which scored Welling, who advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher.

The Rams answered back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth which proved to be the final. Rhody tallied nine hits and drew nine walks on the game while the Explorers banged out five hits.

Junior Shawn O'Neill took the loss for the Explorers, surrendering three earned in 1.2 innings in relief. Junior Dominic Sgroi and freshman Austin Clark combined for 3.2 scoreless innings out of the pen, keeping La Salle in the ballgame.

The Explorers will look to knock off Richmond in the night cap. La Salle dropped two of three at home vs. the Spiders earlier in the season.