THE MIDWEEK MATCHUP: Penn (10-19-1, 5-6-1 Ivy) vs. La Salle (10-23, 2-10 Atlantic-10) | Apr. 17 | Meiklejohn Stadium

Projected Starter (Penn vs. La Salle)
RHP Cole Sichley (0-3, 7.30 ERA) vs. Austin Constantini (0-1, 9.00 ERA)


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PHILADELPHIA - The offensive display Penn (10-19-1, 5-6-1 Ivy) showcased in this past weekend's 2-1 series victory over Princeton -- the program's first of the year -- served as the difference in each of the Quakers' victories, and as the team shifts focus to La Salle (10-23, 2-7 Atlantic-10) and the ensuing four-game home stand, the batting order aims to continue production at an elite level. Headlined by senior Andrew Murnane, the "small ball" approach has clicked with tremendous success over the course of the last few weeks, accumulating runs in large chunks to keep games close or claim a lead. Combined with an improved bullpen and a solidified weekend rotation, Penn has surged to within three games of second, trailing the defending champions -- Yale (9-3) -- and second-placed Columbia (8-4).

The return of Murnane to consistency within the batting line-up has supplied the Penn offense with a significant boost near the bottom of the order, translating to runs once the top rolls around to the plate. The senior breaking out of his slump has bolstered the performances of those around him as well, as both junior Matt Tola and sophomore Peter Matt (positioned in the bottom of the order) have been notably more effective the past two weeks, generating a combined eight hits, six RBIs and four runs in the Princeton series alone. Meanwhile, the power-hitting duo of juniors Sean Phelan and Matt McGeagh slightly faltered against the Tigers -- putting together just three RBIs and nine hits across three games -- but expanded production from up and down the line-up managed to not only keep Penn close, but rather boost the Quakers into solid leads during both victories.

Freshman Cole Sichley will earn his first start since the Saint Joseph's road matchup three weeks ago, aiming to pick up his first win of the season in the process. Behind him, the right-hander has a much-improved bullpen featuring a slew of long-relief pitchers and specialized closers, including fellow freshmen Robby Cerulle and Brendan Bean, juniors Grant Guillory and John Alan Kendrick and the sophomore pair of Dylan Mulvihill and Jacob Sadowitz. The group has been dominating over the past few series, and has all the right tools to contend with nearly any opposing line-up due to an excellent balance of right- and left-handers plus a wide range of pitching motions. 


SCOUTING LA SALLE
The Explorers enter the matchup two days removed from back-to-back doubleheader losses to Fordham at home, falling by a combined 16-11 mark. Recently, though, La Salle has performed better than its record suggests, knocking off Rider, Delaware State, Rutgers and Saint Joseph's all once in the past nine games. Offensively, the weight rests on the shoulders of Ben Faso (.356 BA), who leads the Explorers in hits (48), RBIs (26), runs (19) and doubles (8), and his two sidekicks -- Austin Constantini (.333 BA) and Chase Arnold (.265 BA) -- who combine for 72 hits, 31 RBIs and four home runs.