Photo: Raphael Bartell
Philadelphia, PA – La Salle closed out its home schedule of the 2026 baseball season at Hank DeVincent Field the same way it started it – with a series sweep.
With a come-from-behind victory, 10-8, Sunday, the Explorers completed the weekend series sweep over St. Bonaventure in the home season finale. It was the Explorers' first Atlantic 10 Conference sweep since bringing the baseball program back, having last swept an A-10 series in April 2021, also against the Bonnies on 20
th and Olney.
It is also the Explorers' second A-10 series victory of the season. The other one, also at home, came in March over Davidson.
The Explorers emphatically celebrated the return of baseball to the school with a season-opening sweep over Maryland Eastern Shore in February at "The Hank". The team went on to sweep Delaware State and Coppin State on consecutive weekends in addition to this weekend's sweep.
La Salle finishes the season with a 15-11 record in its friendly confines and averaged 9.7 runs-per-game at home this season.
La Salle has won six of its last eight games.
Ryan Perez, Swain, and Livingston each had two-hit games at the plate. Perez drove in three runs. Novak drove in a pair. Â
Swain now sits just five hits off La Salle's single-season hits record (84). The redshirt-senior is currently riding a 10-game hit streak, his second double-digit hit streak of the season, as he also posted an 11-game stretch bridging February and March.
Swain is-top five in the A-10 in average, on base, OPS, runs scored, triples, and on Sunday, moved into a tie for the conference lead in hits (78).
Of the 50 games Swain has played this season, he has failed to record a hit in only 11 of them.
That balanced La Salle offensive attack awoke late on Sunday, scoring all ten runs from the fifth inning on.
St. Bonaventure led, 4-0, entering the bottom of the fifth, but La Salle chipped away with a run in the fifth and sixth to cut the deficit in half.
Justin Szestowicki hit an RBI single in the fifth and
Ryan Perez hit an RBI double in the sixth.
La Salle flipped the scoreboard with five in the seventh, batting around to continue their rally against the Bonnies' bullpen.
With the bases loaded,
Kosei Suzuki hit an RBI single through the hole on the left side of the infield to tie the game at four. Next batter
Jayden Novak gave the Explorers the lead with a sacrifice fly to deep center.
Perez and Swain added RBI singles to keep the line moving and give the Explorers a 7-4 lead by inning's end.
The Explorers added three for insurance in the eighth, as Novak was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Perez drew a bases-loaded walk, and brother
Daniel Perez brought home a run with a bases-loaded fielder's choice groundout to make it 10-4.
While those eighth inning runs seemed insignificant at the time, they ended up proving the difference, as St. Bonaventure hit a pair of home runs and scored four in the top of the ninth, though
Dylan Duke came in and shut the door to record the save.
La Salle starter
Owen MacDonnell allowed four runs in four innings, but matched a season-high with eight strikeouts.
Josh Beck relieved him and spun two innings of scoreless ball to help give the offense a chance to get back in it.
Jace Terry was the pitcher of record when La Salle took the lead.
La Salle heads to Fairfax, Virginia, to wrap up the season next week with three against George Mason. The series will be played Thursday-Saturday.
