La Salle’s late push came too late.
The Explorers rallied in the eighth inning Wednesday night but couldn’t complete the comeback in an 8-4 loss at Delaware, their second defeat of the season to the Blue Hens.
Delaware set the tone early, scoring three runs in the first inning and building momentum from there. Blue Hens pitching held La Salle to just one hit through seven innings, allowing the home team to extend its advantage to 8-1 entering the eighth.
La Salle (5-2) finally broke through in that eighth inning. Chase Swain doubled with one out and Carter Groen followed with a single to put two aboard. Rueben Livingston then delivered the biggest swing of the night for the Explorers, driving a home run just inside the left-field foul pole. The three-run shot — Livingston’s second in his last three games — cut the deficit to 8-4 and briefly shifted the energy.
The Explorers threatened again in the ninth, placing two runners in scoring position with the tying run on deck in Groen, but could not produce the timely hit.
Livingston finished with three RBIs, while Swain recorded a double and Groen reached base twice. La Salle totaled five hits and drew four walks but struck out 12 times.
On the mound, Shawn Karpaitis (1-1) took the loss after allowing four runs over two innings. Matt DeStefanis surrendered one run in relief, while Dante Edwardi and Bruce Wadiak were each charged with runs in middle relief.
There were bright spots out of the bullpen. Freshman Christopher Gist struck out the first two batters he faced in his collegiate debut during a scoreless inning, and Marco Levari added a scoreless frame with two strikeouts. Chase Forester also contributed a clean inning.
Delaware starter Ryan McLaughlin earned the win after three hitless innings to open the game.
La Salle returns to action this weekend in Baltimore for a three-game series against Coppin State, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon on Sunday.
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