Box Score #1
Box Score #2

Hilo, HI – The 2011 Academy of Art University baseball season concluded with a pair of tough losses to Hawaii-Hilo at Wong Stadium. Game three of this last series of the season had the Vulcans take an early 5-0 lead and hold on to win 8-3 despite one of ART U's patented ninth inning rallies. In Wednesday's finale, UHH pushed across seven unearned runs midway through before the Urban Knights again scored in the late innings of a 7-1 Vulcan victory.

An early five-run, five-hit rally came for Hawaii-Hilo in the second inning, but ART U starting pitcher Zach Mexicano (3-10) would settle in and find his rhythm. The junior lefty allowed just two hits over the next four innings, including a stretch where he retired six consecutive UHH hitters.

“I thought Zach has been consistent all year and his last start was an indicator of how he has thrown,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “He had one tough inning, but settled down and started throwing his pitches better. He went seven innings and it's just an indication of how he's been all year. In fact, both pitchers were battling today and we just didn't make the plays defensively. You have to tip your hat to [the UHH starter] and they played defense behind him.”

Hawaii-Hilo's starting pitcher, righty Ronnie Loeffler (2-5), provided a strong counter to Mexicano. Loeffler surrendered only two hits and struck out six in his seven innings of work, but the Urban Knight offense denied him a shutout in his final frame. Junior outfielder Niko Leite led off the seventh with a double to right field and swiped third base following a walk to senior infielder Darnell Quinney. Leite was not at third for long though as he promptly scored on a wild pitch to put ART U on the board.

A 5-1 ballgame then saw the Vulcans score again in the eighth after putting their first four batters on. Run-scoring hits came for outfielder Keoni Manago and designated hitter Kekoa Lee, two of Hawaii-Hilo's top batters, to make the margin seven runs. Mexicano finished the game with seven runs allowed on nine hits and two strikeouts in 7.0 innings pitched.

This season, Academy of Art has outscored its opponents 22-7 in the ninth inning and Wednesday's opener followed suit. After the first four ART U runners reached base, senior Alex Rosenthal stepped to the plate. He launched a 2-1 pitch into left centerfield and effectively drove in two more on a single. With two Knights on and two out, Hawaii-Hilo got the final batter to fly out, however, resulting in the 8-3 final.

“We don't give up and you have to tip your hat to the kids on our team because they play hard for seven or nine innings,” Coach Guinn said. “It's a good indication of where our program is going. We just need to develop more consistency and keep playing hard to the finish.”


Rosenthal (0-4), the Academy of Art game two starting pitcher, got off to a solid start with two scoreless innings on the mound. He went on to pitch effectively in his final game as an Urban Knight, but was the victim of two separate UHH rallies aided by fielding errors. In the third, three unearned runs came across after a throwing error and then Hawaii-Hilo did it again in the fourth when a dropped grounder early in the inning eventually resulted in four more unearned runs.

The senior ART U right-hander may have allowed seven runs in the game, but only one of those was earned due to the miscues. Rosenthal finished with a complete 6.0 innings pitched, one earned run on seven hits, and matched his career-high with five strikeouts.

“Rosie threw the ball well,” Coach Guinn said. “I was glad to see him end the season throwing the ball well. He had just one earned run and if that had been the score, it might be a different ballgame. I'm just glad to see he ended up strong. It will be sad to see our seniors go. I've had them for two years and they've been here for three. They contributed to lots of history at Academy of Art and hopefully they'll come back as alums and continue to support the team.”

In the sixth inning, the Knights got on the scoreboard with a rally that began by Robbins singling to shortstop. Quinney hit a sacrifice fly to plate Robbins later in the inning, making it a 7-1 game. That score would hold up through the end of the game as Hawaii-Hilo went on to win.

The Urban Knights had strong game one performances from Leite (1-for-4, one double, two runs scored) and Rosenthal (1-for-2, two RBIs). Then, in the team's final game of the year, Robbins led the way with a 2-for-3 outing that included a double and a run scored. With four stolen bases in the last two games, Academy of Art finishes with a team total of 97 steals to lead the PacWest Conference by a margin of 40 with the next highest team, Hawaii Pacific, at 57.

With two key hits in game one, Manago finished the day 4-for-8 with three RBIs, two doubles, and two runs scored. Righty Dan Hennigs (2-2) picked up the win in game two after lasting 5.0 innings with zero runs allowed on two hits and two strikeouts. The Vulcans complete the season at 21-25 overall and 16-16 in PacWest play.

Academy of Art University finishes the 2011 season with a 6-43 overall and 6-26 in the PacWest Conference. The team's six PacWest victories are a program best. Updates on Urban Knight baseball during the offseason can be found by checking www.artuathletics.com.

“Things went pretty well this year, but our record is no indicator of how hard the kids worked,” Coach Guinn said. “We lost games by few inches and we're very close to being a competitive team. We just have a few missing pieces so when we find those, we'll be very competitive in the PacWest.”