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La Salle University Athletics

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BASE high fives
Sean Cornely/La Salle Athletics
5
Saint Joseph's SJU 15-15, 9-7 A-10
14
Winner La Salle LASALLE 29-16, 12-4 A-10
Saint Joseph's SJU
15-15, 9-7 A-10
5
Final
14
La Salle LASALLE
29-16, 12-4 A-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Saint Joseph's SJU 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 8 3
La Salle LASALLE 1 6 0 0 5 2 0 0 X 14 15 1

W: Rappa, Gabe (3-1) L: ROLLINS, Lucas (2-2) S: Yablonski, Colin (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Explorers Cruise by Hawks, Take Series with 14-5 Win in Home Finale

PHILADELPHIA – Six Explorers had multi-hit games as the La Salle University baseball team (29-16, 12-4 A-10) cruised by Atlantic 10 rival Saint Joseph's in its home finale at Hank DeVincent Field on Sunday, 14-5, to win the four-game series, 3-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • La Salle jumped ahead right from the first inning when senior Jack Cucinotta hit a leadoff single and worked his way around the bases before scoring the opening run on a wild pitch.
  • Saint Joseph's evened the score in the second though on an RBI double, tying the game at one apiece.
  • But the Explorers immediately regained control with a six-run bottom of the second. Freshman Will Binder started it by putting La Salle ahead 2-1 with an RBI single to left center to score junior Nick O'Day. Redshirt sophomore Nick Di Vietro then scored on an RBI groundout by senior Alfonse Sadallah before sophomore Connor Coolahan knocked in Binder with an RBI double.
  • Graduate student Ryan Guckin continued his hot hitting just a few batters later, absolutely demolishing a three-run home run to left field, giving the Explorers a 7-1 lead with his third homer of the series.
  • The Hawks had an answer, however, and took advantage of an error to score three runs on a pair of homers by Andrew Cossetti and Tim Cavanaugh in the third to cut the difference down to 7-4. Saint Joe's later made things interesting in the fifth when Nate Thomas hit a solo homer to make it a 7-5 game.
  • Once again, the Explorers responded to the call and piled on five more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Coolahan started by scoring on a double steal, and then Cucinotta crossed the plate on an RBI single by junior Tatem Levins. O'Day opened things up with a two-run double off the left field fence and then scored on a Di Vietro single to provide a comfortable 12-5 lead.
  • The Explorers added two more runs in the sixth, with Coolahan scoring on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Elijah Dickerson and Cucinotta scoring on a wild pitch for the second time to cap off the scoring.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • O'Day led the way, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs, two RBIs, a walk and a hit by pitch.
  • Levins (2-3, 3 BB), Coolahan (2-4, 3 R), Binder (2-5), Guckin (2-6, 3 RBI) and Cucinotta (2-6, 3 R) all had multi-hit games as well as the Explorers racked up 15 hits.
  • Sophomore left-hander Gabe Rappa (3-1) earned the win after striking out five and allowing three earned runs over 5.2 innings, while redshirt freshman Colin Yablonski picked up his second save after striking out a career-high six batters over 3.1 hitless, scoreless innings of relief.
  • The Explorers now have a two-game lead over Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 North standings at 12-4 in conference and are alone in second place on the program's all-time wins list with 29.
  • With a stolen base in the first inning, Cucinotta moved his season total to 25, which ties Peyton Sorrels for fifth in the program in single-season stolen bases.
UP NEXT
  • The Explorers will turn their attention to Fordham next for a four-game Atlantic 10 series on the road next weekend. Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m.
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