BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Freshman Tatem Levins hit three home runs and senior Peyton Sorrels piled up five hits as the La Salle University baseball team used a season-high 22 hits to pick up a dominant 14-6 road win at Lehigh on Tuesday as part of the Liberty Bell Classic.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• La Salle fell behind in the opening inning, as Lehigh's Jeff Shanfeldt hit a two-run homer down the left field line.
• The Mountain Hawk lead remained 2-0 heading to the third inning before sophomore Jack Cucinotta scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit in half. Sorrels then scored the tying run on an RBI single by sophomore Tommy Toal to make it two all.
• Lehigh answered right back in the bottom of the third though, with another two-run long ball by Ryan Malloy, making it 4-2 in favor of the home team.
• Then it became the Levins show in the fourth inning as the rookie belted a solo shot to right field to bring La Salle within a run, 4-3.
• Two batters later, freshman Matt Rivera ripped a double through the left side to bring home Cucinotta, tying the game once again at four apiece. Rivera scored the go-ahead run two batters later on an RBI groundout by Toal, and then Sorrels stole third and scored on an error to give La Salle a 6-4 lead.
• Levins doubled the advantage in the fifth with his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to right scoring fellow rookie Nick Di Vietro for an 8-4 lead.
• The Explorers blew things open in the seventh inning with three more runs. Sorrels doubled to right to bring in Levins and Cucinotta and then came in to score on a single by senior Kevin McGowan, pushing La Salle in front by seven.
• Lehigh chipped away with a pair of runs in the seventh that cut the lead to five at 11-6.
• But Levins ended any idea of a comeback with his third long ball of the game, another two-run shot with Di vietro on base.
• La Salle added one more run in the ninth, as McGowan knocked in Rivera with another RBI single, leading to the 14-6 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The three home runs by Levins are the most by one player in a single NCAA Division I game this season. Fourteen others had accomplished the feat entering the game.
• La Salle (15-14) has already exceeded its win total from a season ago just 29 games into the season.
• It was a career day for Sorrels as well, with a career-best 5 hits in six at-bats to go with three runs, three stolen bases and a pair of RBIs.
• Levins reached base four times, driving in five runs and scoring four more. McGowan, Cucinotta and Rivera each had three hits, while Toal (2-for-6) and Di Vietro (2-for-3) made it seven Explorers with double-digit hits.
• Senior Mike Anthony (2-2) got the win after taking over for starter Mike Jenkins, allowing two runs and just one hits over 3.1 innings of relief with four strikeouts.

UP NEXT

• La Salle will host VCU this weekend for a three-game Atlantic 10 series.