PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Canisius baseball team opened up its weekend with a 4-3 loss to La Salle on Friday afternoon. With the loss the Griffs dropped to 3-13, while La Salle improved to 5-12.

Adam Tricarico blasted a fifth-inning homerun to tie the game at 2-2, however a two-run rally by the Explorers gave La Salle the lead.

The Blue and Gold attempted a rally in the ninth, as Jake Lumley led off with a double and Anthony Massicci brought him in with a single up the middle. Liam Wilson recorded a sacrifice bunt to move Massicci to second before strikeouts by Jake Walter and Ryan Stekl ended the game with the tying run in scoring position.

Josh Shepley got the start for the Blue and Gold and worked 4.2 innings before working into trouble in the fifth. He yielded six hits and four earned runs, as he dropped to 1-3 on the season. Aaron Casper came on in relief and worked 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit and fanned three in the outing. Michael Ginther also pitched for Canisius, pitching 0.2 innings and striking out one in the appearance.

The two teams were fairly even in hits as La Salle rapped out seven hits, while the Griffs recorded six. The Explorers also recorded an error that led to the Blue and Gold's third run, while Canisius stayed errorless in this contest.

Lumley was the only player to record more than one hit in the contest, going 2-of-4 from the dish, and notching an RBI. Four other Griffs recorded hits as well, including Tricarico's long ball.

Canisius will be back at for its final day of competition this weekend, as the squad takes on Saint Joesph's in Philadelphia, Pa., tomorrow. The doubleheader begins at 11 a.m. with the second game come shortly thereafter. The Blue and Gold open at home on Tuesday against Buffalo.