Baseball | April 19, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – Winners of six in a row and off to its best start since 1982, the La Salle University baseball team will have a chance to make history with two midweek games against Penn and Lehigh.

The Explorers will visit Penn on Tuesday before hosting Lehigh at Hank DeVincent Field on Wednesday, both slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch. Tuesday's game at Penn will be available to watch on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT

• La Salle improved to 20-11 with a four-game Atlantic 10 series sweep over the weekend, taking doubleheaders at UMass Saturday (8-5, 3-0), and Sunday (4-3, 11-6).
• On Saturday, the Explorers scored four unanswered runs over the final three innings to take game one, 8-5, before freshman Frank Elissalt tossed a seven-inning shutout in a 3-0 win in game two to complete the doubleheader sweep.
• On Sunday, La Salle again scored four unanswered runs and held off a base-loaded threat in the final inning for a 4-3 win in game one. Then in game two, the Explorers broke a 6-6 tie with five runs in the ninth inning to seal the series sweep.
• Sophomore Elijah Dickerson hit a two-run home run to tie the second game in the seventh inning on Sunday and finished the doubleheader with four hits on the day.
• Redshirt sophomore Nick Di Vietro, now on a 10-game hitting streak, went 7-for-12 in the series with three runs, four walks, two doubles and two RBI. Graduate student Ryan Guckin had six hits and scored four runs over the weekend, including a 2-for-4, three RBI performance in game one on Saturday.
• Senior Colin Kennedy made two saves over the weekend while running his scoreless streak up to 13.2 innings without a run, including eight straight shutout relief appearances.

ELECTRIC ELISSALT

• Freshman right-handed pitcher Frank Elissalt was honored as both the Atlantic 10 Pitcher and Rookie of the Week on Monday following his scoreless outing at UMass. It was the fourth Rookie of the Week award this season for Elissalt.
• He fired a seven-inning complete-game shutout in game two on Saturday to clinch a road doubleheader.
• The Miami native matched his career high with 11 strikeouts and allowed only two hits and one walk on 103 pitches. He's had 10 or more strikeouts in four different games this season, averaging 8.4 per game.
• With the win, Elissalt improved to 4-1 and dropped his ERA down to 3.78 over eight starts.

ON A HISTORIC PACE

• Only one other team in the history of La Salle baseball has won 20+ games over the first 31 games of the season. That came in 1982 when the Explorers were 21-10 through 31 games.
• A win on Tuesday or Wednesday would tie that 1982 team for the best start in program history. Wins on both days would make this year's Explorers team the only one with 22 wins through 33 games in the history of the program.
• The Explorers exit the weekend atop the Atlantic 10 standings with a 6-2 conference record. That marks the best league start for La Salle since 2010.
• La Salle has continued to win on the road, improving to 13-5 as the away team this season with the road sweep at UMass, including 11-2 over the last 13 away games.
• Overall, the Explorers are 16-5 over their last 21 games and are on a six-game win streak for the second time this season (also doing so from March 20-April 2).

MOVIN' ON UP

• Ryan Guckin has 40 career doubles, which ranks ninth in program history. He needs just one more to move into eighth place all-time. Guckin also has 99 career RBI, just one shy of 100 for his career.
• Jack Cucinotta has 34 career steals, which is tied for ninth in school history. He needs just one more to move into eighth place all-time.
• Colin Scanlon has 138 career strikeouts, needing only eight more for 10th in school history.
• Frank Elissalt has 67 strikeouts this season, needing only one more to tie for ninth in single-season program history. Eight more would put him in seventh, while 10 more would crack the top five.

SCOUTING PENN

• The Explorers and Quakers just met last Wednesday in a game that ended in a 6-4 win for La Salle. Sophomore John DeMucci went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the win.
• This will be the sixth game of the year against Penn, going 3-2 against the Quakers over the first five games. Included was a doubleheader sweep for both teams the last time they played at Penn.
• The Quakers are 3-7 overall, with all three wins coming at home. They split a doubleheader with Delaware prior to last week's midweek loss to the Explorers.
• Tommy Courtney leads the team with a .341 batting average, while Wyatt Henseler is batting .314 with seven RBI.
• On the mound, the Quakers have a team ERA of 6.33 and a WHIP of 1.73.

SCOUTING LEHIGH

• The Mountain Hawks are 14-11 overall and 10-3 on the road.
• Lehigh swept Army in a road doubleheader on Sunday to bring its Patriot League record to 11-6.
• Casey Rother paces the offense with a .341 average to go with four homers and 18 RBI. Eric Cichocki is batting .340 with 23 runs scored, while Joe Gorla has a team-high 21 RBI.
• On the mound, Lehigh has been solid with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.