University of Delaware Athletics
Blue Hens Host La Salle Tuesday in First Round of Liberty Bell Classic
3/23/2015 4:08:00 PM | Baseball
Delaware (9-5, 2-1 CAA) comes into Tuesday's matchup having won eight of its last 10 games and has scored at least seven runs in six straight contests.
Jim Sherman. “We are sending our young freshman Matt Hornich to the mound and we are expecting him to get the job done."Hornich will be making his third career start Tuesday. The southpaw tossed four scoreless innings in his first start vs. Rider, but struggled against Lehigh last week.
La Salle comes into Tuesday's matchup with a 10-12 record, but the Explorers have won four of their last six games.
Justin Korenblatt leads La Salle with 24 RBI and a .419 batting average while Joey Ravert has posted a team-high five home runs.
The Explorers average 7.2 runs per game and have a .304 team batting average. La Salle's pitching staff has an ERA of 5.00 with a .260 opponent batting average.
Delaware last won the Liberty Bell Classic in 2013. The winner of Tuesday's game will face the winner of the Rider/Lehigh game in the second round of the tournament. The matchup between Rider and Lehigh will also take place Tuesday afternoon.
First pitch between the Blue Hens and Explorers is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Bob Hannah Stadium.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
· Joe Giacchino, Diaz Nardo, and Gary Jones lead Delaware with three home runs this season.
· Giacchino comes into Tuesday's matchup riding an 11-game hitting streak.
· Tyler Powell's five hits in Delaware's 14-1 win over Hofstra are the most from any UD player in a single game this season and the most since Nick Ferdinand had five vs. Georgia State in 2013
· Tuesday will be the 51st meeting between La Salle and Delaware. The first meeting took place in 1948 and UD leads the all-time series 39-11.
· The Hens and Explorers split a pair of meetings last season, but La Salle defeated Delaware in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic a season ago.
· UD and La Salle combined to score 51 runs in the two matchups last season.
