CLINTON, S.C. – With the game tied, 7-7, the La Salle University baseball team scored nine runs in the ninth inning to capture a 16-7 road victory over Presbyterian on Sunday. The win gave the Explorers a split in their opening series, improving to 2-2 overall on the young season.
 
Junior catcher Brett Simon stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth with one out and the bases loaded, and he delivered. Simon smacked a two-run single to right to break the tie and give La Salle a 9-7 lead, as senior Brian Dudeck and junior Brian Tagoe came in to score.
 
Then the floodgates opened, with the La Salle bats catching fire. With two outs in the final inning, the Explorers exploded for seven more runs, finishing the day with 15 hits.
 
Junior Ben Faso hit a two-run single to score senior Austin Constantini and Simon to put the Explorers up by four. Sophomore Ryan Guckin was then hit by pitch with the bases load, allowing junior Peyton Sorrels to trot home.
 
Tagoe took the next pitch for another two-run single through the right side, bringing in junior Kevin McGowan and Faso. Junior Connor Hinchliffe capped off the ninth with a two-run single to score Tagoe and Guckin.
 
After putting up 23 hits in Saturday's doubleheader split, the Explorers continued where the left off and jumped out to an early lead. An RBI single by Faso gave La Salle a 1-0 advantage in the first inning before Presbyterian tied it in the bottom of the frame.
 
La Salle took a 4-1 lead in the second after an RBI single by Simon and a two-run single by Sorrels.
 
Presbyterian scored five unanswered runs to take a 6-4 lead in the fourth inning, but in the sixth, Constantini singled and Dudeck scored on an error to cut the deficit to just one. McGowan then laced an RBI single to bring in Constantini for the tying run.
 
The Blue Hose went on top again in the seventh on a home run by Tannor Byrd, but Constantini tied it up at 7-7 in the eighth when he scored on a passed ball.
 
Right-hander C.J. Pruitt (1-0) entered the game in the eighth and earned the win after striking out a pair over two shutout innings. Freshman Colin Kennedy started on the mound and lasted three innings.
 
Three Explorers posted three-hit games, and eight different players recorded a hit in the contest. Constantini went 3-for-5, scored three runs and also stole a base. Faso went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two walks, while Hinchliffe was 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored. Simon drove in three runs and scored twice, and Sorrels had two RBI and two runs as well.
 
The 16 runs were the most the Explorers have scored in a game since April 8, 2016, when they also tallied 16 runs versus Fordham.
 
La Salle, which earned two wins in its opening series for the first time since 2015, will have four days off before starting a three-game series at The Citadel beginning on Friday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m.