Philadelphia, PA – Jayden Novak hit four home runs and drove in 11 RBI between both games of a doubleheader to lead La Salle to a Friday sweep of St. Bonaventure at Hank DeVincent Field.
Novak hit a walk off grand slam with the Explorers down to their final out to win Game 1, 11-8, and then drove in five as part of an offensive explosion in the Game 2 victory, 18-9.
In the last ten days, Novak, a redshirt freshman, has hit seven total home runs with 20 RBI.
Chase Swain had another big day at the plate for the Explorers, tallying six hits as he closes in on La Salle's single season hits record, which currently stands at 84. With four more games left to play, Swain has 77 on the season. After play Friday, Swain is currently top five statistically in the Atlantic 10 Conference in batting average, slugging, on base, OPS, runs scored, hits, and triples.
Alec Welshans and
Rueben Livingston hit back-to-back homers in Game 2 to join the home run party.
Welshans is now second in the Atlantic 10 in home runs (17) and ironically jumped Swain for fourth-best in the conference in slugging (.641).
Carter Groen, who had a pair of RBI Friday, is now just two off the A-10 leading mark with 70.
Game 1
With La Salle trailing, 8-7, heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Explorers mounted a rally as
Carter Groen hit a one-out single, Livingston, representing the go-ahead run, put runners in scoring position with a two-out double, and
John Mendola worked a walk to load the bases.
Novak crushed a 1-1 pitch over the wall in dead center – his second of the game – to walk it off for the La Salle. It was the Explorers' first walkoff home run since the program was reinstated this spring.
Novak's first homer of the game came in the sixth inning, a two-run shot which at the time broke a 5-5 tie to make it 7-5 La Salle.
St. Bonaventure reclaimed the lead an inning later with three in the top of the seventh.
La Salle had jumped ahead early with three in the bottom of the first. Groen laced an RBI single to break the ice and Livingston hit a two-run single to make it 3-0.
Livingston and Groen both went 4-for-5 in Game 1.
After the Bonnies got a run back in the top of the second, Livingston delivered his second RBI single of the game and next batter
Ryan Perez hit a sacrifice fly to give the Explorers a 5-1 advantage in the bottom of the third.
St. Bonaventure would go on to tie the game with four in the fourth, evening it up on a homer from Joey Bruno.
On the mound,
Josh Beck entered the game in the seventh inning and settled down the back-and-forth affair, spinning 2 1/3 scoreless with a strikeout to qualify for the win.
Game 2
Novak and the Explorers picked up right where they left off in Game 1, as the Explorers' catcher followed up his walk off grand slam with a second inning RBI groundout to break the ice.
Shawn Karpaitis added an RBI single as La Salle jumped ahead to an early 2-0 lead.
St. Bonaventure responded with five in the top of the third, but again Novak came through in the clutch for the Explorers, hitting a two-run homer to tie the game at five in the bottom of the frame.
Kosei Suzuki hit an RBI single one batter earlier to start the rally.
Suzuki went 4-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBI in Game 2.
Knotted at five apiece entering the bottom of the fourth, La Salle blew the game open with a six-run inning. It started when Swain scored on a wild pitch, then Groen and Suzuki hit RBI singles, Mendola worked a bases-loaded walk, and then Swain bookended the inning with a two-run single to make it 11-5.
The Bonnies would get three back in the sixth, but La Salle scored seven straight in the seventh and eighth to put it out of reach.
In the seventh, Suzuki hit a two-run double, Novak hit a two-run shot over the left field fence for his second of the game and fourth of the day, Swain hit an RBI single, and then executed a double steal in which
Daniel Perez stole home to make it 16-8.
Welshans and Livingston went back-to-back with solo homers in the eighth to put the cap on a memorable day at The Hank which saw La Salle score a combined 29 runs on 35 hits.
The doubleheader Friday was scheduled in advance of anticipated rain on Saturday. After the day off, the two teams return to finish the series Sunday at 12 noon in the Explorers' home finale of the 2026 season.
