OAKLAND, Calif. – A back-and-forth battle took place between Academy of Art (1-1) and Cal State East Bay (1-1) on Friday Night at Laney College. After battling back from a 3-0 deficit with a five-run fifth, the Urban Knights managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 10th when the Pioneers brought the game to a sudden halt with a hidden ball trick.
 
East Bay got off to a quick start, scoring two runs in the first inning off of junior right-hander Chris Petrosie making his Urban Knight debut. Petrosie got into a nice rhythm over the next three innings, only surrendering two hits before allowing another run to cross in the fifth. Junior right hander Sal Johnson took over from there and induced a flyout to left-center to end the threat.
 
After collecting just three hits in the first four innings, ART U's bats came to life in the fifth. With runners on first and second, senior infielder Erick Luna drove home the Urban Knights' first run of the game with his second hit: a single up the middle to drive in senior outfielder Cameron Jones from second. Now with two runners on base, junior outfielder Jackson Murphy stepped up to the plate and delivered a booming triple over the head of the Pioneers' center fielder that plated both Luna and junior infielder Mike Maleski. ART U tallied two more hits in the frame including runs batted in from junior catcher Marciano Reichel and junior infielder Brennan Mauchline who pinch hit for sophomore outfielder Taj Dawson. After 10 Knights received an at-bat, the inning came to a close and the Urban Knights had roared ahead 5-3.
 
However, it did not take long for the Pioneers to respond. To avoid the shutout inning, Cal State East Bay scored twice to even the score, 5-5 in the sixth.
 
Over the next three innings, both sides were held scoreless, forcing the game to go into extras. The Pioneers pulled ahead in the tenth off of a sacrifice fly from Troy Resch, forcing ART U to either score or go home in the bottom of the inning.
 
Sophomore infielder Robert "Gio" Villanueva got the frame off to a good start, leading off with a five-pitch walk. Two batters and two outs later, Maleski beat out an infield single to keep the inning alive and Luna followed with a sharp single through the right side that loaded the bases. With two runs already batted in on the day, Murphy stepped up to the plate, looking to end the game and send the fans home happy. However, before he could step into the batter's box, it was revealed that East Bay's third baseman Michael Thomas had hidden the ball from view and tagged out Villanueva when he first stepped off of the bag. The hidden ball trick ended the game before the Urban Knights' chance to make a comeback was fully realized.
 
ART U outhit the Pioneers 12-7 with their second through fourth batters going 7-for-13 (.538) with three runs batted in and three runs scored. Murphy was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, two runs batted in and a run scored. Luna went 3-for-6 including a double, a run, and an RBI, while Maleski and Villanueva contributed a pair of hits each.
 
Junior left hander Alex Fernandez delivered a solid outing out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 innings while only surrendering one hit, one run (earned), one walk, and three strikeouts. Senior left hander Jacob Green also performed well in his 2017 debut, only needing nine pitches to get through an inning of work and allowed only one walk (no hits).
 
The Urban Knights will close out the series on Saturday with an 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. double header at Cal State East Bay.