Oakland, CA – In a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader at Laney College, the series between Academy of Art and Hawaii Pacific finished up with HPU securing a pair of victories. The Sea Warriors started with a 10-1 win in the final Pacific West Conference contest the teams would play in the Bay Area. Then, a 9-0 result came for Hawaii Pacific in game two, a non-conference matchup. Junior infielder Zach Babitt registered a double, one run scored, and a stolen base in his 2-for-2 game one performance.

“I thought the guys on HPU kept ball in the strike zone and made good pitches,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “We as a team just need to have better at-bats. You definitely have to give them credit for getting pitches in the right spot, but we just need to put the ball in play a little bit more.”

The teams started Tuesday's action with a scoreless first inning, but the Sea Warriors would follow with a significant scoring rally in the second. HPU plated 10 runs in that frame to take the lead, though solid relief pitching from senior righty Alex Rosenthal kept the visitors off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.

“Alex threw the ball well today and he was helped by plays behind him as well, but he's really starting to find himself,” Coach Guinn said.

In the fourth inning, Academy of Art opened with consecutive doubles from Babitt, senior infielder Darnell Quinney, and finally sophomore Stefen Henderson. The offensive swing produced one run for the Knights, though Hawaii Pacific managed to induce a pair of groundouts to stop the run there. ART U had opportunities in its final two innings, but the Sea Warriors would hold on for the 10-1 victory in the end.


HPU scored twice to begin game two and was able to build on its lead with another two-run rally in the second inning. Junior lefty Zach Mexicano then came on to help quiet the Sea Warrior offense with 1.1 strong relief innings and one strikeout in his appearance. Heading into the fourth, Hawaii Pacific was in front 4-0 with starter Sergio Contreras (1-3) continuing to roll. The advantage would be strengthened via a four-run HPU rally in that inning.

Despite the success of HPU's starter, Academy of Art was able to shorten his outing with an offensive possibility in the sixth. Sophomore catcher Chris Holmes began by reaching on an error then Robbins and senior outfielder Ryan Worley each drew walks to load the bases. ART U had a tough break, however, and was unable to score. Freshman righty Wade Broadstreet highlighted the final frame with a clean three-up, three-down appearance. Coach Brian Guinn had praise for the efforts of Mexicano and Broadstreet afterward.

“Wade and Zach Mexicano are both in a good groove right now and as they get rolling, we'll start to put more wins up,” Coach Guinn said. “We're just trying to get other guys to where they're at right now.”

With a strong performance at the plate in the opener, Babitt had his fifth multi-hit game of the season. He was 2-for-2 in the contest, including a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Quinney, who leads the team with 18 RBIs, added a run-scoring double in that game as well. Though junior right-handed starting pitcher Kallen Fletcher (0-3) was unable to pick up the win in the first contest, Rosenthal pitched 6.0 strong innings of relief without allowing an earned run. Freshman lefty starter Samm McAlear (0-2) was dealt the loss in game two. Tuesday's results put ART U at 3-20 overall, 3-13 in PacWest Conference this season.

“We're probably a couple players away from being consistent right now,” Coach Guinn said, looking back on the series. “We're still a little young and other teams are a little order so as soon as we catch up age-wise and experience-wise, we'll be right there.”

HPU was led by Rylan Morihara and infielder Kale Sumner in the doubleheader. That duo combined to go 5-for-12 with eight RBIs and eight runs scored. In game one, Brent Queen (3-2) earned the victory on the mound after 6.0 innings pitched, one run allowed on four hits, and seven strikeouts. The winning pitcher in the second contest was Contreras who threw 6.0 innings of one-hit ball with no runs allowed and four strikeouts. Hawaii Pacific moves to 13-14 overall, 10-6 in the PacWest following Tuesday's series conclusion.

The Urban Knights are back on the road this weekend when they travel to Nampa, ID for a four-game series with Northwest Nazarene University. NNU is currently ranked 6th in the West Region. The teams will start with a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 25.