Baseball | March 26, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University baseball team will open up a four-game home stand this week, welcoming the Delaware Blue Hens and Saint Joseph's Hawks to Hank DeVincent Field. The Explorers will take on the Blue Hens as part of the Liberty Bell Classic on Tuesday before hosting the Hawks for a three-game series Thursday-Saturday.

HOW TO FOLLOW
La Salle (5-16, 0-3 A-10) vs. Delaware (12-9, 2-1 CAA)
Liberty Bell Classic
Hank DeVincent Field
Tuesday – 3 p.m. | LIVE STATS

La Salle vs. Saint Joseph's
Thursday – 3 p.m. | LIVE STATS
Friday – 3 p.m. | LIVE STATS
Saturday – 12 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH

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ATLANTIC 10 ACTION BEGINS
La Salle began Atlantic 10 Conference play over the weekend, dropping a three-game series at George Washington. The Colonials swept the series, taking 11-6, 5-4 and 8-2 decisions. In game one Friday, the Explorers held leads of 4-0 and 6-4 but couldn't hold on. On Saturday, La Salle fought back from a two-run deficit and tied it in the fourth inning before GW went back on top and ultimately edged out a one-run win. The Colonials then took an early 7-0 advantage in Sunday's series finale en route to the victory. Junior Ben Faso, who hit his first home run of the season on Friday, was responsible for eight of La Salle's 12 runs in the series, driving in four runs and scoring four more.

STAT STUFFERS
The Explorers begin the week second in the A-10 in hits with 212 through 21 games, averaging over 10 per contest. La Salle is fourth in the league in batting average, hitting at a .271 clip, while ranking third in the conference in doubles (37) and fifth in homers (9). Additionally, the Explorers' pitching staff is averaging 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks fifth in the A-10.

Faso is second in the A-10 in batting average (.375), while senior Austin Constantini is fourth (.356). The two also rank second (Faso – 33) and third (Constantini – 32) in hits, respectively, with Faso's 1.65 hits per game putting him 28th in the nation. Constantini also remains the A-10's toughest batter to strike out, ranking ninth nationally with 22.5 at-bats per strikeout. Faso is tied for fifth in the league in doubles (6), Constantini is fifth in on-base percentage (.443) and senior Chase Arnold is tied for fifth in homers (3). On the mound, freshman Colin Kennedy is sixth in the A-10 with 10.64 strikeouts per nine innings.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS
Delaware enters Tuesday's contest with a 12-9 overall record and a 3-4 mark in road games. The Blue Hens won two of three games in their opening conference series against Towson over the weekend but lost 10-2 in the final game. After starting 2-4, Delaware won eight of its next ten games, including a pair of wins over Maryland.

Kyle Baker leads the Blue Hens offensively with a .375 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and .571 slugging percentage. Baker and Diaz Nardo lead the squad with 13 RBI each, while Erik Bowren is second in batting with a .327 average. On the hill, probable starter Joey Haass has six strikeouts and an 8.53 ERA through just 6.1 innings. Colman Vila (2-1) has made nine relief appearances with a 0.77 ERA and two saves.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Joseph's will also be competing in the Liberty Bell Classic Tuesday, taking on Penn before Thursday's series opener at La Salle. The Hawks are coming off three straight losses after being swept by Saint Louis in their A-10 opening series. Prior to that, Saint Joseph's had won four of its last five, including two wins over Notre Dame.

Charlie Concannon has paced the Hawks offensively and enters the week fifth in the A-10 with a .352 batting average. Dominic Cuoci provides power with three homers and a team-high 12 RBI, while Concannon has driven in ten runs. Meanwhile, Tim Brennan (3-2) has been the ace of the Saint Joe's pitching staff with a 3.82 ERA and 33 strikeouts over five starts. Justin Aungst (1-4) has also racked up 24 strikeouts over his five starts and owns a 4.55 ERA.