AMHERST, Mass. – For only the second time in school history, the La Salle University baseball team has won 20 of its first 31 games in a season as the Explorers swept a doubleheader at Massachusetts on Sunday to complete the four-game series sweep. La Salle rallied to win game one, 4-3, before scoring 10 unanswered runs in game two for an 11-6 victory to run its win streak up to six games.

Game 1 – La Salle 4, UMass 3 (F/7)

• The Minutemen took advantage of an error and scored the game's first run in the first inning and then took a 3-0 lead with two more runs in the second.
• La Salle responded in the third though as junior Tatem Levins scored on an error and redshirt sophomore Nick Di Vietro drove home sophomore Elijah Dickerson with an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-2.
• The Explorers tied it at three all in the fifth inning when redshirt sophomore Bubba Weigel knocked home Dickerson on a sacrifice fly to center field.
• In the top of the seventh and final inning, freshman Will Binder delivered an RBI single through the right side to score Di Vietro for the go-ahead run, 4-3.
• UMass loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but redshirt freshman Colin Yablonski got the final out on a play at the plate to end the game.

Game 2 – La Salle 11, UMass 6

• La Salle got on board first in the second game when graduate student Ryan Guckin trotted home on a sacrifice fly by Binder in the second inning.
• The Minutemen answered back in the third, however, and scored five runs in the third before adding another in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead midway through.
• Dickerson got La Salle back within striking distance in the sixth with a two-run double to center field and then Di Vietro made it a 6-4 game with an RBI double to center.
• It was Dickerson again in the seventh, this time cranking a two-run home run to right center to tie the game up at six apiece.
• The score remained tied until the ninth, and that's when La Salle went to work. Binder broke the tie with an RBI single up the middle and senior Alfonse Sadallah added an RBI single of his own to make it 8-6 Explorers. Senior Jack Cucinotta followed with a two-run single and Levins hit an RBI single of his own to suddenly put the Explorers on top 11-6.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• At 20-11 overall, this is La Salle's best start through 31 games since 1982. That '82 squad is the only other team in program history to win 20 of its first 31 contests.
• Now 6-2 in the Atlantic 10, it's the best start in conference play for the Explorers since the 2010 season. That puts the Explorers tied for first place in the A-10 standings.
• In the first game, Dickerson reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two runs and two walks. Sophomore Jordan Morales struck out a career-high five while scattering two earned runs on four hits over 4.1 innings in his second career start. Yablonski earned the second win of his career after throwing 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.
• In game two, each of La Salle's first five hitters – Cucinotta, Levins, Dickerson, Guckin and Di Vietro all had two hits apiece, with Dickerson driving in four runs. Sophomore Dylan Maria improved to 2-1 after tossing two scoreless innings and senior Colin Kennedy gave up no hits in a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save of the year.
• With a stolen base in game two, Cucinotta moved into a tie for ninth place in school history with 34 career stolen bases.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers will look to tie their best start in program history on Tuesday when they visit Penn for a 3 p.m. first pitch.