Baseball | May 8, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University baseball team will wrap up the road portion of its schedule this weekend when the Explorers travel to the Bronx for a three-game Atlantic 10 Conference series at Fordham.
 
SERIES INFO – La Salle (24-26, 3-15 A-10) at Fordham (29-21, 10-8 A-10)

• Game 1: Friday – 3 p.m. – Houlihan Park, Bronx, N.Y. | ESPN+
• Game 2: Saturday – 2 p.m. – Houlihan Park, Bronx, N.Y. | ESPN+
• Game 3: Sunday – 12 p.m. – Houlihan Park, Bronx, N.Y. | ESPN+

FASO TAKES SECOND BIG 5 HONOR

• Senior Ben Faso was named Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week for the second time this season and was also tabbed Hitter of the Week by the Philadelphia Baseball Review.
• Faso got the 200th hit of his career over the weekend and hit .455 over five games for the Explorers. He had a hit in all five games last week and drove in seven runs while scoring four times. 

LAST TIME OUT

• La Salle was dealt three tough losses against Dayton this past weekend at Hank DeVincent Field after taking a 9-5 win over UMBC and a 4-3 win over LIU Brooklyn in the midweek matchups.
• Faso notched his 200th career hit in game one, sparking a dramatic comeback attempt with six runs over the final three innings, but it fell short, 7-6.
• On Saturday, the Explorers and Flyers tackled a doubleheader, with La Salle jumping on top early in both.
• Sophomore Colin Kennedy had a season-high eight strikeouts in the first game of the doubleheader and the Explorers led 3-0 after the first inning. But Dayton scored six runs over the final two innings to steal a 9-5 win.
• In the final game, senior Kevin McGowan had two doubles and sophomore Jack Cucinotta hit a two-run home run to give the Explorers a 5-3 advantage in the third. La Salle stretched that lead to 7-3 in the sixth, yet Dayton scored five in the seventh to spoil what looked to be an Explorer win, ending in a 9-7 defeat.

MILESTONES, MILESTONES, AND MORE MILESTONES

• It was quite the week for the Explorers in terms of setting milestones.
• In Tuesday's win over UMBC, Ben Faso recorded his 50th RBI of the season. He is fourth in single season program history now with 56 RBIs with six games remaining. Faso then registered his 200th hit on Friday, becoming just the ninth player in program history to join the elite club. He sits seventh in school history in both career RBI (126) and career doubles (43).
• Senior Connor Hinchliffe earned his 12th save of the year against LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday, moving into second on the program's single season list. He's only one save away from the school record of 13.
• Senior Peyton Sorrels wrote his name in the record books last week as well. Sorrels swiped his 20th base of the year in the win over UMBC and is now sixth in single season history with 22. Also, in Wednesday's win over LIU Brooklyn, he became just the seventh player in program history to score 50+ runs in a season and is currently at 51.
• Also for Sorrels, he's climbing his way up the team's single season hits list. Sorrels has 73 hits so far this season, which is tied for seventh most in program history and is 11 away from the school record of 84 done by Sam Boone in 1985.
• Hinchliffe is seventh in the nation in saves, Sorrels is 17th nationally in hits and Faso is 24th in the country in RBI.

SCOUTING FORDHAM

• The Rams enter the weekend at 29-21 overall and 10-8 in the A-10.
• Fordham has been impressive at home with a 14-4 record on their home turf.
• The Rams have won three of their last four and took 2-of-3 games at George Mason this past weekend.
• Reigning A-10 Rookie of the Year Jake MacKenzie leads the Fordham offense with a .337 average, 40 runs, 36 stolen bases and a .510 slugging percentage. MacKenzie leads the nation in stolen bases, as does Fordham as a team. Alvin Melendez has scored 31 runs and swiped 26 bases.
• Matt Mikulski (5-5, 4.02 ERA) is projected to start game one for the Rams. John Stankiewicz (6-3, 1.32 ERA) leads the A-10 in ERA and WHIP (0.84) and is the game two projected starter. Anthony DiMeglio (4-3, 2.47 ERA) is projected to start game three. A-10 Pitcher of the Week Kyle Martin is 4-2 with eight saves as well.