PHILADELPHIA – The Red and Blue host La Salle at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. first pitch in University City. Penn is coming off an outstanding 4-0 week, notching a midweek win against Lehigh before sweeping Ivy League foe Dartmouth in a three-game set.
 
GAME 18: Penn (7-10, 3-0 Ivy) vs. La Salle (11-12, 2-4 A-10)
March 24 | Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium | Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

The Series
La Salle holds the all-time series lead by a narrow margin of 42 wins and 38 losses. Penn comes into the meeting having won three of the last four meetings, its most recent being a 16-3 victory at Hank DeVincent Field. The Explorers returned to action this season for the first time since 2021, after a five-year hiatus due to the university cutting the program's funding.

The Quakers won the last matchup at home, 8-7, in a 10-inning affair during the 2021 season. Interestingly, both teams hold a better record on the road than they do at home. The Red and Blue are 17-16 at Hank DeVincent Field and La Salle holds a 25-21 advantage in University City.

The series commenced on April 30, 1947, with Penn claiming a 5-2 victory.
 
At the Plate
Qwynn Ahearn paces Penn with a .400 batting average and has registered 12 hits, eight RBIs, two home runs and five runs scored in 10 appearances this season. The junior holds a .514 on-base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage in his 10 starts behind home plate.

Junior outfielder Gavin Degnan enters the non-conference meeting with a .286 average, and has started in all 17 games this season. The Lakehurst, N.J. native leads the Quakers in hits (18), RBIs (19), total bases (34), runs scored (12) and home runs (3). His .540 slugging percentage ranks fourth among his Ivy League competitors.
 
Freshman infielder Jay Secretarski has had a quality start to life as a Quaker, posting a .279 batting average in 17 starts. The Asheville, N.C. native has rung up 17 hits, four doubles, three RBIs and 11 runs scored with a .397 on-base percentage.
 
Co-captain Jarrett Pokrovsky had a great weekend at the plate against Dartmouth, notching two hits and an RBI in all three games. In Game 2 on Saturday, the designated hitter opened his home run account for the year with a deep shot to right field. Pokrovsky holds a .239 batting average with 16 hits, four doubles and 23 total bases in 17 starts.

Ryan Taylor (.231), Nick Spaventa (.224), Gavin Collins (.214) and Ernie Echevarria (.211) round out Penn's hitters batting over .200.  
 
In the field, the Red and Blue are tied for the second-best fielding percentage (.970) in the conference with a league-low 19 errors.
 
On the Mound
The Quakers' pitching has been tough for opponents through the first few weeks of the season, posting a 4.80 ERA that places second in the conference. The Red and Blue have allowed 83 runs so far this season, the fewest among their Ivy League foes.

Junior left-hander Marty Coyne leads Penn and the Ivy League with a 2.70 ERA and picked up his second win of the season on Saturday. The Hockessin, Del. native has thrown 26 strikeouts, which is tied for fifth in the conference, while his four walks and 30.0 innings pitched both rank second.
 
Relievers Connor Darling (0-0, 5.00), Nick Newburn (0-1, 1.04) and Aidan von Zuben (0-0, 5.14) each registered a save across the series with Dartmouth. Darling's three saves this campaign are tied for the most in the Ivy League.

Jake Moss (2-1, 5.26) guided the Quakers to their first conference victory of the season in Game 1 on Saturday with a career-high nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings. His 23 strikeouts this season rank eighth in the conference and his 25.2 innings pitched comes in at fifth.

Co-captain Thomas Shurtleff (5.25) started on the mound for Penn on Sunday and improved to 2-2 with a 5-2 win.
 
Scouting the Explorers
La Salle enters the matchup with Penn after taking two games in a three-game series with Davidson this past weekend. The Explorers dropped their first game to the Wildcats, 17-13, but they took home back-to-back wins on Saturday (8-2) and Sunday (10-1) to improve to 11-12 on the year. Saturday's triumph snapped a previous five-game losing streak.
 
Six Explorers are batting .250 or better among players that have appeared in 75 percent of the team's contests, including Chase Swain (.371), Ryan Perez (.291), Carter Groen (.286), Daniel Perez (.265), Justin Szestowicki (.256) and Alec Welshans (.256).

Swain paces the offensive unit with 33 hits, 29 runs scored and 55 total bases, while Groen leads the visitors in RBIs (39). Welshans has tallied a team-leading eight home runs and D. Perez has stolen nine bags. As a team, the Explorers' batting average of .255 ranks last in the A-10.
 
On the mound, Owen MacDonnell (2-1, 6.59) and Shawn Karpaitis (2-1, 3.86) have each guided La Salle to a pair of victories in their combined five starts. MacDonnell paces the visitors with 26 strikeouts and 28.2 innings pitched. Shay Titus (1-1, 0.84) has been consistent in his relief work, allowing only one run in 10.2 frames.

La Salle's pitching staff has given up an average of 7.46 runs per game, which ranks ninth in the A-10. The Explorers have struck out 172 batters through 23 games and allowed the second-fewest hits in the conference (180).
 
Follow the Action
Tuesday's contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available for fans.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.