PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore Elijah Dickerson hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning of a seven-inning victory in game two to lead the La Salle University baseball team to a doubleheader split with George Mason on Saturday from Hank DeVincent Field. The Patriots took game one, 10-5, before the Explorers rallied for a 4-2 win in game two.

Game 1 – George Mason 10, La Salle 5

• George Mason starting pitcher Ryan Stoudemire not only had it going on the mound, he also hit in the six hole in the lineup, and gave himself a 1-0 lead to work with after hitting a solo homer in the second inning.
• Stoudemire did it again in the fourth, belting another solo shot to left to make it 2-0 Patriots in an inning that saw George Mason capitalize on three La Salle errors with six runs to run out to a 7-0 advantage.
• La Salle chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the fourth as freshman Will Binder roped a two-run double down the left field line, but George Mason added another run in the seventh and two more in the ninth to go up 10-2.
• The Explorers rallied in the bottom of the ninth, with sophomore Dylan Maria driving in Nick Di Vietro on a single up the middle and junior Tatem Levins hitting a two-run double to left center, but it was too late.

Game 2 – La Salle 4, George Mason 2 (F/7)

• Freshman right-handed pitcher Frank Elissalt was carving up the Patriots early in the second game, striking out five of the first seven batters that he faced.
• George Mason did manage to sneak in a run in the fourth, but Elissalt struck out the final batter of the inning to get out of a bases-loaded jam to prevent further damage.
• The Explorers answered right back in the bottom of the fourth when Levins blasted a solo homer over the right field fence to even the score at one apiece.
• The Patriots went back in front in the top of the sixth though, 2-1, on a solo shot by Pat Nielsen.
• But La Salle rallied in the bottom half and tied the game up at two all when senior Alfonse Sadallah scored on a Levins sacrifice fly.
• Then Dickerson stepped into the box and drove the first pitch he saw deep to right, bringing in sophomore Connor Coolahan on the two-run homer to provide a 4-2 lead.
• Sophomore Jordan Morales then came in to close it out in the ninth and picked up his second save of the season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Elissalt once again piled up the strikeouts, tying his season high with 11, a plateau that hadn't been reached by an Explorer pitcher since 2006. He allowed just two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings pitched.
• Levins drove in four runs on the day, while Di Vietro, Maria and senior Tommy Toal all had two-hit games in the first contest.

UP NEXT

• La Salle will be right back at Hank DeVincent Field on Sunday to host Coppin State. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and first pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.