PHILADELPHIA – The Explorers had to overcome multi-run deficits in the opening innings of both games as the La Salle baseball team fell to Fordham in an Atlantic 10 Conference doubleheader from Hank DeVincent Field on Saturday. La Salle's comeback attempt came up just short in the first game, 4-3, and again in the series finale, 12-8.
 
Sophomore Dylan Evans and senior Yan Carlo Rivera both hit their first home runs of the season in the second game.
 
Fordham 4, La Salle 3
Fordham opened with two runs in the first inning and then pushed the lead to 4-0 after Jake MacKenzie and C.J. Vazquez hit solo homers in the third and fourth innings.
 
The Explorers cut the lead in half in the sixth as freshman Tommy Toal drove in junior Kevin McGowan and then scored on an RBI single by Evans. McGowan scored again in the eighth when freshman Jack Cucinotta singled to center, making it a one-run game.
 
Junior Ben Faso singled in the ninth, but the Explorers' comeback attempt came up just short, 4-3.
 
Sophomore Matt Holt threw 4.1 shutout innings of relief to keep La Salle in the game. He finished with three strikeouts while allowing only two hits. Freshman Colin Kennedy started and struck out five over four innings. McGowan went 3-for-5 with two runs, while Toal and Cucinotta both had multi-hit games as well.
 
La Salle men's basketball head coach Ashley Howard threw out the first pitch in the opening game.
 
Fordham 12, La Salle 8
In the second game, Fordham's Billy Godrick homered on the first pitch of the game to set the tone for a seven-run first inning. The Rams then extended the lead to 8-0 in the third.
 
Evans lifted one over the right field wall to get La Salle on the board in the third inning. Sophomore Ryan Guckin then scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Austin Constantini to make it 8-2.
 
The Rams tacked on three more runs in the fourth before the Explorers rallied for four runs in the seventh frame. Junior Peyton Sorrels tripled and Toal drove him home to make it 11-3.
 
Senior Rafael Amanau also tripled, knocking in Toal, and then scored on an RBI groundout by Guckin. Redshirt sophomore Dillon Malandro reached on an error, allowing freshman Nick Mancuso to come home, cutting the deficit to just five.
 
Sorrels tripled again in the eighth and scored on a single by Guckin to make it a four-run contest. A Godrick RBI double pushed the difference back to five in the top of the ninth. Rivera then blasted a bomb to left to make it 12-8. Malandro singled, but La Salle couldn't bring him home.
 
Freshman Michael Jenkins and sophomore Erik Janss threw 4.1 scoreless innings in relief of starter Greg Paprocki and reliever Connor Hinchliffe. Sorrels went 2-for-3 with two runs, and Guckin was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.
 
La Salle (10-23) will remain Philadelphia for a road contest at Penn on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.