Baseball | April 16, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – Off to its best start since 1985, the La Salle University baseball team will bring a two-game winning streak into its Atlantic 10 Conference series at Massachusetts this weekend. The Explorers and Minutemen will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.

THE MATCHUPS (at UMass – 4 Games)

• Game 1: Sat., 12 p.m. (9) – Colin Scanlon (3-2) vs. Jack Steele (2-4)
• Game 2: Sat., 3 p.m. (7) – Frank Elissalt (3-1) vs. Daniel Livnat (1-1)
• Game 3: Sun., 12 p.m. (7) – TBD vs. TBD
• Game 4: Sun., 2:30 p.m. (9) – Gabe Rappa (1-1) vs. TBD

LAST TIME OUT

• The Explorers used a four-run first inning to take down Penn at Hank DeVincent Field on Wednesday, 6-4.
• Junior Tatem Levins and sophomore Elijah Dickerson hit back-to-back RBI doubles before graduate student Ryan Guckin smacked a two-run single to provide a 4-2 lead after one.
• Sophomore John DeMucci hit an RBI double and then Guckin drove in a run on his fourth triple of the season to make it 6-4 through five innings.
• La Salle's bullpen took care of the rest, firing 5.2 combined innings of scoreless baseball on the day. Senior Colin Kennedy capped it off with his second save of the season, running his streak up to 10.2 consecutive innings without a run allowed, including six straight scoreless appearances out of the 'pen.
• DeMucci went 3-for-4 with two doubles, his second 3+ hit game in five games. Guckin drove in three runs, while he, Levins and Dickerson each had two hits apiece.

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1985

• The last time the Explorers (16-11) got off to this hot of a start through 27 games, they went on to make the NCAA tournament and won a school-record 31 games during the 1985 season.
• It's also the first 2-2 start in A-10 play for La Salle since 2016, and two wins on Saturday would make it the best conference start since 2013.
• La Salle is 9-5 on the road this season, including 7-2 over the last nine away games.
• Overall, the Explorers are 12-5 over their last 17 games, which included a six-game win streak from March 20-April 2.

CLIMBING THE RANKS

• Ryan Guckin has 38 career doubles, needing only one more to tie for ninth in program history. Guckin also has 96 career RBI, just four shy of 100 for his career.
• Jack Cucinotta has 32 career steals, needing only one more for 10th in school history.
• Colin Scanlon has 137 career strikeouts, needing only nine more for 10th in school history.
• Frank Elissalt has 56 strikeouts this season, needing only 12 more to tie for ninth in single-season program history.

SCOUTING UMASS

• The Minutemen have struggled to start the season, sitting at 8-17 overall and 0-4 in the A-10.
• UMass has only played three home games all year, but did manage a 9-8 win over Merrimack in its last outing at home on Wednesday.
• Prior to that, the Minutemen got swept in four games at Saint Joseph's last weekend.
• Dylan Judd provides the power for UMass with six home runs and 19 RBI while batting .263 to tie for the team lead in average with Mike Gervasi (.263 avg., 12 RBI).
• Game one projected starting pitcher Jack Steele is 2-4 with a 6.89 ERA and 28 strikeouts over six starts. Game two projected starter Daniel Livnat is 1-1 with a 4.94 ERA and 21 strikeouts. UMass has a team ERA of 6.28 and opposing teams are hitting .275 against them.