Baseball | March 8, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University baseball team will continue its 15-game opening road stretch this weekend, heading to Missouri for a three-game series with the Tigers starting on Friday. All three games will be broadcast on the SEC Network Plus on WatchESPN.

HOW TO FOLLOW
La Salle (4-7) at Missouri (10-3)
Columbia, Mo.
Game 1 | Friday – 7:30 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCHESPN
Game 2 | Saturday – 2 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCHESPN
Game 3 | Saturday – 5:30 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCHESPN
All times Eastern

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DUDECK DUBBED BIG 5 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
There have been three Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week awards handed out so far this season, and all three have gone to La Salle. This week, it was senior Brian Dudeck earning the honor. He joins junior Brett Simon (Feb. 19) and senior Chase Arnold (Feb. 26) as Big 5 honorees, while freshman Tommy Toal claimed Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week on Feb. 26 as well.

More than half of Dudeck's hits last week went for extra bases, as he slugged 1.000 with two doubles, a triple and a home run. Over four games, Dudeck hit .500 with seven RBI, three runs, two walks, a stolen base and a .556 on-base percentage. He was a homer away from the cycle in a 12-1 win over Maryland Eastern Shore and then drove in five runs in an 11-inning defeat at Kansas State.

THE HIT PARADE CONTINUES
The Explorers' high-powered offense continued to produce in games at Maryland Eastern Shore and Kansas State last week, as La Salle racked up 54 hits (13.5 per game) and 26 runs (6.5 per game). For the year, La Salle is outhitting its opponents 132-121, averaging 12 hits a game.

After going off for 12 runs and 15 hits in a dominant win at Maryland Eastern Shore, La Salle continued to pile up hit after hit in a tough road series at Big 12 member Kansas State.

In the opening game, the Explorers trailed by just one, 4-3, midway through the seventh inning and accumulated 11 hits in an eventual 9-3 defeat. Game two was a battle to the finish, as La Salle took three separate leads, including in the ninth and tenth innings, before suffering a heartbreaking 11-10 loss in 11 innings despite a season-best 18 hits. Even though the Explorers were held to a season-low one run in game three's 5-1 setback, La Salle still matched Kansas State with 10 hits and received a quality start from freshman Colin Kennedy (5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 10 Ks).

AMONG THE BEST BATS
La Salle continues to lead the A-10 in hits with a total of 132 through 11 games, which ranks 31st nationally. The Explorers are also second in the conference and 39th in the country in batting average, hitting at a .303 clip, while they are also second in the league in scoring with 6.6 runs per game. The team is also third in the A-10 in total runs (73), on-base percentage (.374), slugging percentage (.397), doubles (21) and home runs (6).

Junior Ben Faso leads the A-10 in hits (20) and hits per game (1.82), the latter of which ranks 23rd in the nation. Senior Austin Constantini, junior Connor Hinchliffe, Arnold and Dudeck are all among the top-10 in the A-10 in hits along with Faso. Arnold is tied for the league lead in homers (3), is tied for second in RBI (12), and is third in slugging percentage (.707). He is also tied for fifth in doubles (4) and is ninth in runs (10). Faso (.392) and Arnold (.390) are both among the top-10 batting averages in the A-10. Dudeck is in the top-10 in the conference in on-base percentage (.471) and slugging percentage (.537), while Constantini is right behind in on-base percentage at .466. Hinchliffe is 10th in the league with nine RBI.

PITCHING PROSPECTS
On the mound, Kennedy ranks fifth in the A-10 with 11.68 strikeouts per nine innings and is ninth in total strikeouts with 16. Sophomore Matt Holt owns a 4.11 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 15.1 innings pitched. Freshman Michael Jenkins has a 3.72 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 9.2 innings of work. Meanwhile, sophomore Jackson Ray has 11 strikeouts over 13.0 innings, and junior Mike Anthony leads the team with a 2-1 record.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Missouri enters the weekend series on a hot streak, winning each of its last five contests. The Tigers are 10-3 so far and 6-1 at home, highlighted by a win at Miami (Fla.) and sweeps over UMBC and Alabama A&M. The last time out, Missouri swept UMBC at home, capturing wins of 7-1, 6-5 and 5-0.

Brian Sharp leads the offense, hitting .475 with three homers, 18 RBI, a .532 on-base percentage and a .825 slugging percentage. Trey Harris is batting .370 with 15 RBI, while Kameron Misner is hitting .341 with three long balls, 12 RBI and a team-best .554 on-base percentage. Bryce Montes De Oca is the ace of the Mizzou staff at 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 17.0 innings. Michael Plassmeyer leads the team with 25 strikeouts, while Nile Ball has earned two saves and has yet to give up an earned run in four appearances.