Baseball | February 19, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – Junior catcher Brett Simon of the La Salle University baseball team was named Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week on Monday following his standout performance at the plate over the weekend. In addition, fellow junior first baseman Ben Faso was also honored as the Philadelphia Baseball Review Hitter of the Week.

Simon hit .625 over the three games he appeared in, helping La Salle to a pair of victories in its season-opening series at Presbyterian. He drove in three runs, scored three times and posted a .667 on-base percentage. In Sunday's 16-7 win, Simon broke a 7-7 tie in the ninth inning with a two-run single, sparking a nine-run final frame for the Explorers.

After the first weekend of competition, Simon's .625 average leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and ranks tied for 17th in the nation. In Saturday's doubleheader, he combined to go 3-for-4 with a run and a walk over the two games. Simon capped off the weekend by going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored in the win on Sunday.

Faso was equally as impressive, starting in all four games for La Salle. He hit .471 with three RBI, two runs and a .526 on-base percentage. Faso went off in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, going 4-for-5 and scoring a run. He kept the momentum rolling into Sunday's series finale, hitting 3-for-4 with three RBI, two walks and a run scored.

In Sunday's victory, Faso drove in the game's first run to give La Salle a 1-0 lead and then smacked a two-run single in the ninth to give the Explorers a four-run cushion. Faso leads the A-10 with eight hits after opening weekend, which ranks him tied for eighth nationally.

With two wins already under their belt, the Explorers will head to Charleston, S.C., next for a three-game series at The Citadel beginning on Friday.