PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle University baseball team scored five unanswered runs late, but it wasn't enough in a 9-6 setback to VCU from Hank DeVincent Field on Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• VCU jumped in front right from the start with two runs in the first inning and another on an error in the second.
• La Salle came with a pair, 3-1, in the bottom of the second after an RBI single to right center by freshman Ross Mulhall.
• However, the Rams piled on six more runs - two in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth - to take a commanding 9-1 lead.
• Senior Peyton Sorrels closed the gap by hitting his second home run in two days, a two-run shot to right field scoring sophomore Jack Cucinotta to bring La Salle within six.
• The Explorers continued to claw back in it as junior Ryan Guckin drove in freshman Nick O'Day and then scored on an RBI groundout by Mulhall.
• La Salle brought the deficit down to just three runs, 9-6, when O'Day drove home senior Kevin McGowan with an infield single in the eighth. The Explorers went down in order in the ninth though, as the comeback fell short.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Eight different Explorers had a hit in the game, including two-hit performances from Guckin, O'Day and McGowan.
• Sophomore Malik Brown and freshman Chuck Kelley combined to toss three shutout innings of relief. Kelley struck up three over the final two innings.

UP NEXT

• La Salle will close out its series with VCU on Sunday. A tailgate is scheduled for noon and first pitch is set for 2 p.m.