PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University baseball team jumped out to a 3-0 lead early but couldn't hold on, dropping its home opener to the Manhattan Jaspers, 11-6, on Friday from a cold and windy Hank DeVincent Field.

Manhattan (6-9) scored four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead and added insurance runs in each of the final four innings to hold off La Salle (4-12).

The Explorers struck first as senior Brian Dudeck scored on a fielder's choice hit by junior Kevin McGowan, giving La Salle a 1-0 lead after the first inning. La Salle then pushed the advantage to three in the third, as junior Ben Faso scored on a wild pitch and McGowan scored on an error.

But the fourth inning was a big one for the Jaspers, bringing four runs across the plate to leap ahead, 4-3. Manhattan continued to add to its lead in the sixth on an RBI souble by Brendan Bisset, and in the seventh, the Jaspers tacked on another pair of runs to take control, 7-3.

La Salle responded in the bottom of the seventh and pulled right back within a run. Senior Yan Carlo Rivera scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Chase Arnold to cut the deficit to three. Sophomore Ryan Guckin followed that up with a two-run home run to right field, bringing in junior Connor Hinchliffe, as the Explorers made it 7-6.

However, Manhattan pulled away with two runs in the eighth, and then a two-run double by Bisset gave the Jaspers an 11-6 advantage.

Guckin went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks in addition to his second homer of the year. Senior Austin Constantini went 2-for-4 with a walk as well. Freshman Michael Jenkins (0-2) struck out two but took the loss on the mound for the Explorers.

The Explorers will host Wagner on Saturday at 1 p.m.