PHILADELPHIA – Graduate student Ryan Guckin had five hits on the day, but the La Salle University baseball team dropped a pair of games to Penn on Saturday from Hank DeVincent Field in non-conference action, 7-6 and 16-3.

Game 1 – Penn 7, La Salle 6

• Freshman Will Binder picked up where he left off after Friday's walk-off hit, driving in the game's first run on a groundout that brought home Guckin for a 1-0 lead.
• Penn got things going in the fourth though, scoring five runs in the frame, four of which were unearned due to a pair of errors, giving the visitors a 5-1 advantage.
• La Salle made it a three-run difference in the fourth when Guckin scored on an RBI groundout by redshirt sophomore Nick Di Vietro, making it 5-2.
• However, Penn extended its lead back to four at 6-2 with another unearned run in the fifth.
• The Explorers again came within three, 6-3, in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by sophomore Elijah Dickerson, plating classmate Connor Coolahan.
• Penn answered right back again with another run in the sixth though on a double down the left field line, opening up a 7-3 lead.
• Coolahan got La Salle back within a pair in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run double to right center, bringing in junior Nick O'Day and senior Alfonse Sadallah to make it 7-5.
• The Explorers came all the way back within a run in the seventh when Guckin drove home junior Tatem Levins on a double to right center, but Brendan Bean came on for the final two innings and shut down the Explorers to close out the win for Penn.

Game 2 – Penn 16, La Salle 3

• It was all Quakers right from the start in the second game as they opened up a 4-0 lead in the opening inning and then added three more in the fifth to go up 7-0.
• La Salle got back within striking distance in the fifth inning thanks to Dickerson, who hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run laser to right field that scored Coolahan and Guckin and made it a four run-game, 7-3.
• But Penn quickly answered with two more runs in the sixth to push the difference to six at 9-3.
• The Quakers added another run in the seventh and put the game completely out of reach with six runs in the eighth.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Guckin had a big performance in game one, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, a triple and an RBI. He finished the day 5-for-8 with three runs scored. The triple put his season total up to six, which is tied for the second most in single-season program history. Meanwhile, the two doubles gives him 45 for his career, which is tied for fifth in the program, while also putting him into a tie for seventh on the single-season list as well with 17.
• In the first game, Coolahan went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a double and a run. Freshman Frank Elissalt allowed only one earned run on six hits over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts, while sophomore Gabe Rappa allowed just one run on two hits over 4.0 innings of relief.
• With a stolen base in the second game, senior Jack Cucinotta moved his season total to 23 and career total to 41. He is now in sole possession on sixth place on the program's career stolen bases list and seventh place on the single-season list.

UP NEXT

•  The Explorers will host Saint Joseph's in a battle of the top two teams in the Atlantic 10 North Division next weekend in their home series finale. Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m. and Senior Day is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday.