Baseball | March 12, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University baseball team returns home for three games at Hank DeVincent Field this weekend as the Explorers host George Mason and Coppin State. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

THE MATCHUPS

• Game 1: vs. George Mason – 12 p.m. – Colin Scanlon vs. Stoudemire
• Game 2: vs. George Mason – 3:30 p.m. – Frank Elissalt vs. Versaw-Barnes
• Game 3: vs. Coppin State – 2:30 p.m. – Gabe Rappa vs. Ruffino

WEEKEND SPLIT

• The Explorers split four road games this past weekend, sweeping Bucknell, 7-0 and 5-4 on Saturday and then dropping to Delaware on Sunday, 7-4 and 14-4.
• In the first game against Bucknell, senior Colin Scanlon threw a one-hit shutout in a seven-inning complete game and the Explorers scored all seven of their runs in the fourth inning.
• La Salle then fought back from a 4-2 deficit in game two and scored a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to earn the 5-4 victory to complete the sweep of the Bison.
• On Sunday at Delaware, the Explorers fell behind in the first inning of both games and couldn't overcome the early holes.
• Redshirt sophomore Nick Di Vietro went 5-for-8 with four runs on the weekend, including a 3-for-3 effort in game one on Sunday, leading to Hitter of the Week honors from the Philadelphia Baseball Review.

AN UNUSUAL YEAR

• Saturday's doubleheader with the Patriots will be a non-conference series, as will the two games at George Mason on March 20.
• The Atlantic 10 has been split into two divisions this season. Fordham, La Salle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure make up the North Division. Davidson, Dayton, George Mason, George Washington, Richmond, Saint Louis and VCU make up the South Division. 
• Teams will play 24 games against their own division and games played against teams from the other division will not count in conference records.

SCOUTING GEORGE MASON

• The Patriots are 1-3 on the young season with two losses at Navy in a doubleheader, a 10-7 home win over Richmond and a 4-1 loss to William & Mary the last time out.
• George Mason will play on Friday before making the trip to Philly, taking on UMBC at home.
• Mason O'Mara leads the lead with a .583 batting average, .583 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage. Scott Morgan is also hitting .333 with three doubles.
• Game one starting pitcher Ryan Stoudemire is 0-2 with 3.52 ERA over 7.2 innings pitched, while game two starter Kieran Versaw Barnes owns a 2.08 ERA over 4.1 innings.

SCOUTING COPPIN STATE

• The Eagles have already played nine games and are 2-7 overall, with both wins coming on the road.
• Coppin State started the year with five straight losses before taking two out of three at Mount St. Mary's. The Eagles then fell at George Washington on Wednesday, 9-4.
• Darren Hagan leads the team with a .364 batting average to go with eight RBI, while Eddie Javier, Jr. has a .333/.429/.542 slash line.
• Sunday's projected starter Tim Ruffino is 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA over two appearances.