Baseball | April 8, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – For the first time since March 14, the La Salle University baseball team will return home to Hank DeVincent Field as the Explorers host Rhode Island for their first Atlantic 10 Conference series of the season.

THE MATCHUPS (vs. Rhode Island – 4 Games)

• Game 1: Fri., 3 p.m. – Colin Scanlon vs. Twitchell
• Game 2: Sat., 11 a.m. – Frank Elissalt vs. Webb
• Game 3: Sat., 2 p.m. – Jordan Morales vs. Picone
• Game 4: Sun., 11 a.m. – Gabe Rappa vs. Diaz

LAST TIME OUT

• The Explorers rallied for nine runs in the sixth inning to erase an early deficit in a 16-8 win at Coppin State on Wednesday.
• Sophomore Elijah Dickerson hit a solo home run to give La Salle the early edge in the first inning, but Coppin State would respond and go up 6-3 after five innings.
• La Salle flipped the game in the sixth though and got nine runs on eight hits, highlighted by freshman Will Binder's first career homer and a three-run double by senior Jack Cucinotta.
• Sophomore John DeMucci had a career performance at the dish, going 4-for-6 with three RBI and a double. Dickerson had three hits, while graduate student Ryan Guckin and junior Tatem Levins each had two hits apiece.

ROLLIN' ON THE ROAD

• La Salle capped off a 10-game road stretch on Wednesday, going 7-3 over that stretch to improve to 9-5 on the road this season.
• The Explorers have been red-hot as of late, winning nine of their last 12 games, including a six-game win streak from March 20-April 2.
• During those last 12 games, La Salle has outscored its opponents by 40 runs, averaging 8.8 runs per game while allowing only 5.5 per contest.
• Sophomore Jordan Morales, who will make his first career start this weekend, has a team-best 1.59 ERA over nine appearances.
• Levins (.310 avg., 24 RBI) and Dickerson (.303 avg., 3 HR) have been as consistent as they come at the plate this season and both have started in all 22 games so far.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND

• The Rams enter the weekend at 11-13-1 overall but just 4-12-1 on the road.
• Rhode Island has lost three straight games, dropping a doubleheader at Hofstra (3-1 and 5-4) before falling at home to Bryant on Wednesday, 10-7.
• Austin White leads the team with a .327 batting average to go with 14 RBI and eight stolen bases, while Xavier Vargas has a team-high four home runs and 20 RBI.
• Rhode Island's projected pitching rotation consists of Ryan Twitchell (2-0, 2.20 ERA), Mike Webb (2-0, 3.25 ERA), Domenic Picone (0-1, 4.91 ERA) and Alex Diaz (0-0, 1.50 ERA).