Philadelphia, PA – Rallying from early deficits in both games, the La Salle baseball team's bats came alive when it mattered most on Friday to sweep a doubleheader against Delaware State at a cold and misty Hank DeVincent Field.

La Salle won the first game, 13-4, and claimed the second game, 9-8, in eight innings due to available daylight concerns. La Salle trailed, 4-0, in the fourth inning of the first game and was behind, 7-0, in the third inning of the second.

Carter Groen claimed sole possession of the nation's lead in RBI at the time of the conclusion of the second game. Groen currently owns 17, having driven home four in the first game and a pair in the second with a two-run homer.

In the friendly confines of Hank DeVincent Field, La Salle has now scored 70 total runs through the first five games at their home ballpark.

Owen MacDonnell struck out seven batters in five innings, allowing four runs while scattering three hits to earn the win in Game One. Titus Shay tossed a perfect two innings out of the bullpen and was the pitcher of record in Game Two when La Salle jumped ahead, 9-8, before the game was called due to darkness, thus qualifying for the win.

La Salle's bullpen combined to allow just four earned runs in 11 innings combined between both games, tallying 17 strikeouts.

Game 1

Trailing, 4-0, entering the bottom of the fourth, La Salle responded with 13 unanswered to start the day. The Explorers evened up the score with a four-run bottom of the fourth and then put up eight runs in the sixth inning en route to the victory.

With the score knotted at four in the bottom of the sixth, Groen struck again, lacing a two-run single on a line drive to center field. La Salle would never look back, as next batter Rueben Livingston crushed his first home run of the season high over the wall in left field, and three batters later, Ryan Perez doubled home a pair in the Explorers' third two-run hit of the inning. Perez would soon score on a wild pitch and Groen, batting around, drew a bases-loaded hit by pitch in the 14-batter inning for La Salle.

Despite allowing three runs in the second and a run in the third, La Salle lefty Owen MacDonnell found a grove and turned in a seven-strikeout performance en route to his second victory of the season (2-0). Six of those strikeouts came in his last three innings pitched after allowing a solo homer in the top of the third.

The Explorers' bullpen was lights-out again, posting four scoreless to hold the lead after MacDonnell departed. Shawn Karpaitis, Dylan Duke, Isaac Kopalchick, and Lucas Edwards each threw one scoreless inning, combining for six strikeouts. Kopalchick struck out the side in a perfect eighth inning.

Delaware State raced out to the 4-0 lead on a pair of homers. Caleb King hit a three-run homer in the top of the second to open the scoring, and then Jabril Bullock hit a solo shot in the fourth.

La Salle would immediately respond in the bottom of the fourth, however. Ryan Perez tripled home Jayden Novak to get the Explorers on the board and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Alec Welshans. Chase Swain would later drive home Danny Perez with a fielder's choice, and then Groen knotted the game up with an RBI knock to score Ryan Albin.

Albin worked a bases-loaded walk in bottom of the seventh to tack on an insurance run for the Explorers.  

Albin, Groen, and Ryan Perez each had two-hit games for La Salle.

Game 2

Much like the first game, La Salle found itself down in a considerable early hole, this time, 7-0, after Delaware State put up six in the second and one in the third.

The Explorers kept chipping away throughout the late afternoon, and battling daylight, were able to scratch across a go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth when Rueben Livingston led off the inning with a two-base error, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Justin Szestowicki, and scored on a wild pitch, giving La Salle the 9-8 lead.

Umpires convened after the inning concluded – just after 5:30 pm – and determined that the game would be called due to darkness.

La Salle evened up the score at eight one inning prior, when AJ Guiliana drew a bases-loaded walk, though Delaware State turned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to kill the rally.

Like the first game, Groen was the catalyst for La Salle's offense. The outfielder from Texas clobbered a two-run homer – his second of the season – to left center in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 7-2. Kosei Suzuki laced a line-drive RBI single up the middle later in the inning to make it 7-3.

In the bottom of the fourth, Swain contributed an RBI single and Szestowicki drove him home with a sacrifice fly to cut it closer, this time, 7-5.

The Explorers then got even for the first time next inning, when Swain hit a two-run double to make it 7-7.

Delaware State jumped back ahead in the top of the sixth, though, on a SAC fly from Bullock.

Shay was dominant out of the bullpen for La Salle, striking out four in two perfect innings, giving the Explorers' offense the opportunity to jump ahead late. It is Shay's first win of the season, though the righty also has a save from last weekend's series.

Freshman Matt DeStefanis also impressed out of the bullpen for La Salle in his collegiate debut, striking out three while allowing just one run in two innings of relief before Shay came in.

Swain was 3-for-3 with the three RBI in Game 2 and is now batting .409 through five games this season.