PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There was a meeting on Thursday to save baseball for men at La Salle University. Students, students and even team management were all there, all fighting to keep playing ball.
“A school without baseball does not make much sense to me, especially when we have had a historically good program,” said James Santore, a former potter at La Salle University.
America’s pastime is a thing of the past, at least at La Salle University.
It is expected that a number of athletic programs will be cut at the end of the academic year after the board of trustees approved a recommendation to reduce the number of La Salle athletics teams from 25 to 18, which includes the baseball team.
“There’s a chance we can save it, and that’s what we’re kind of focusing on right now,” said Tommy Toal, a junior baseball player.
TONIGHT: @LaSalleBase fighting to save their team. The board of trustees gave a recommendation to cut 7 athletics programs, and the baseball team is on the chopping block. But the team tells me, not if they can help it! Full story on @CBSPhilly 11 o’clock. pic.twitter.com/kfI3ImErOP
- Kimberly Davis CBS3 (@KimberlyDavisTV) October 8, 2020
Explorers say they do not go down without a fight.
On Thursday afternoon, more than 100 people gathered for a meeting in support of saving the team.
Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports stopped by Explorers Den to review the pizza as part of the rally.
For now, La Salle baseball fans know they are at the bottom of the ninth with two outs, and they are hoping for extra innings. But according to the university, it all comes down to economics.
A spokesman for La Salle told Eyewitness News: “We have been in regular contact with them and we will continue these talks in the coming weeks.”
“I have to worry about 35 student athletes who are in pain right now,” said baseball coach David Miller.
While the La Salle community continues to fight, their only prayer is to play ball.
Society has put together a petition and a GoFundMe to save the baseball team.