Baseball | April 26, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University baseball team will host Atlantic 10 Conference leader Saint Louis this weekend at Hank DeVincent Field. The three-game series will begin with the Spring Tailgate Series on Friday, with food and giveaways for fans in attendance.

HOW TO FOLLOW
La Salle (14-26, 4-8 A-10) vs. Saint Louis (25-15, 11-1 A-10)
Hank DeVincent Field
Friday (Spring Tailgate Series) – 3 p.m. | LIVE STATS
Saturday (Spring Fest) – 2 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH
Sunday – 12 p.m. | LIVE STATS

Twitter: @LaSalleBase   #LaSalleBASE

LA SALLE SPLITS MIDWEEK GAMES
After winning their first A-10 series of the season at Massachusetts over the weekend, the Explorers split a pair of midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday. La Salle won its third game in a row on Tuesday, downing Maryland Eastern Shore, 6-1. Sophomore Dylan Evans went 3-for-3 with two doubles in the win, while junior Ben Faso slugged his third home run of the year and classmate Niko Jenkins tossed four scoreless innings in his first career start at pitcher. On Wednesday, the Explorers scored five unanswered runs but couldn't overcome an eight-run first inning by Georgetown in an 8-5 setback on the road. Senior Austin Constantini went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the defeat.

STAT STUFFERS
Faso leads the A-10 with 60 hits on the season, and his league-leading 1.54 hits per game ranks 31st in the nation. He also stands third in the conference in batting average (.364), fourth in doubles (13), eighth in slugging percentage (.497) and tenth in RBIs (30). Faso, who already owns the fifth longest hit streak (16 games) in program history, is just 11 hits and one double away from entering the school's top 10 lists for both single season categories.

As a team, La Salle is second in the league in hits with nearly 9.5 per game, while the Explorers are fifth in both doubles (67) and slugging percentage (.366). Constantini remains the A-10's toughest to strike out, ranking 14th nationally with a 16.5 at-bat per strikeout average. He is also fourth in the league in hits (55) and eighth in batting average (.333). On the mound, Constantini is tied for seventh among A-10 pitchers with four saves, while freshman Colin Kennedy is eighth in strikeouts per nine innings with a 9.35 clip.

SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
Saint Louis sits atop the Atlantic 10 standings with an 11-1 conference record. However, the Billikens enter the weekend on a six-game losing streak, all coming in non-conference play. Saint Louis fell at Eastern Illinois, 14-11, the last time out. Prior to the losing skid, the Billikens had won 24 of its 26 previous games. Jake Garella leads the offense with a .346 average and 30 RBIs, while Nick Reeser is batting .326 with a .413 on-base percentage. Alex King provides the power with eight home runs and 36 RBIs.

Saint Louis will start its three top pitchers this weekend. Miller Hogan (6-2, 2.16 ERA) and sophomore Jackson Ray (1-2, 4.33 ERA) are projected to square off in game one, while Jackson Wark (7-2, 4.07 ERA) and Kennedy (1-6, 7.44 ERA) are expected to duel in game two. Drew Reveno (6-2, 2.16 ERA) is anticipated to make the game three start for the Billikens.