Baseball | March 19, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – Coming off a dramatic walk-off win the last time out and sitting at .500 through 12 games, the La Salle University baseball team will hit the road Saturday for a non-conference doubleheader at George Mason. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

THE MATCHUPS

• Game 1: vs. George Mason – 12 p.m. – Colin Scanlon vs. Lyons
• Game 2: vs. George Mason – 3 p.m. – Frank Elissalt vs. Versaw-Barnes

ELISSALT CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

• Freshman right-handed pitcher Frank Elissalt was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Tuesday.
• Elissalt piled up 11 strikeouts and allowed just two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings pitched enroute to his first career victory in game two of Saturday's split with George Mason.
• Prior to Elissalt, no Explorer pitcher had eclipsed 10 strikeouts since 2006. The rookie from Miami has already done so twice in just three starts and is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA over three outings.

WALK-OFF WEEKEND

• The Explorers went 2-1 last week, with a split against George Mason last Saturday and a come-from-behind, walk-off win over Coppin State on Sunday.
• After a 10-5 defeat in game one, the Explorers beat the Patriots 4-2 in game two thanks in large part to sophomore Elijah Dickerson's go-ahead home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
• Elissalt set the tone with his 11-strikeout performance on the mound, and after Dickerson provided the lead, sophomore Jordan Morales came on to get the save.
• On Sunday, junior Tatem Levins hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth as part of a four-run rally to lift the Explorers past Coppin State, 11-10.
• Levins put up a .364/.429/.909 slash line over the three games while driving in five runs and hitting a solo homer in the game-two win over George Mason.

AN UNUSUAL YEAR

• Saturday's doubleheader with the Patriots will be a non-conference series, just like the two games played against George Mason this past weekend were. La Salle's series at St. Bonaventure next weekend will be non-conference as well.
• 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 2-6 so far this season with the wins coming over A-10 teams – Richmond and La Salle.
• George Mason split last Saturday's doubleheader with La Salle and then fell at UMBC, 13-7, on Sunday.
• Mason O'Mara (.421 avg.) and Scott Morgan (.394 avg., 2 HR, 9 RBI) pace the George Mason lineup offensively.
• Right-handers Jared Lyons (1-1, 5.87 ERA) and Kieran Versaw-Barnes (0-1, 4.35 ERA) are the probable starting pitchers for Mason. Versaw-Barnes pitched game two against the Explorers last Saturday, striking out nine while allowing four runs on four hits over 6.0 innings pitched.