OAKLAND, Calif. – Senior right hander Brett Bovee was dominant yet again in Friday's PacWest opener against Concordia (4-7, 1-0 PacWest). However, the Las Vegas native endured a tough-luck, 1-0 loss, tossing 8.0 innings and striking out nine (both season-highs) while allowing just one run on five hits and walked two.
 
The Urban Knights' (4-10, 0-1 PacWest) first hit came in the bottom of the opening frame when senior infielder Erick Luna laced a two-out double over the right fielder's head. Although the Knights could not bring him across, Bovee kept the game within reach throughout the night. In fact, Bovee did not surrender a hit until the fourth inning when the Eagles' Haloa Dudoit pushed a ball through the left side of the infield. Before the bid for a perfect game was over, Bovee was unstoppable: needing just 33 pitches to record the game's first nine outs, Bovee recorded four punchouts during that time and struck out the side in the third with each batter going down looking. Bovee continued to look strong afterwards and kept the contest scoreless through five frames.
 
Concordia was finally able get on the board in the sixth inning after Ryan Land received a one-out walk. After stealing second, Land took a risk on a bloop-single to left field and headed for home. His efforts paid off as the ball was misplayed and the Eagles took a 1-0 lead.
 
Bovee did not allow another run to cross the plate over the next two innings and pitched through the eighth for the first time this season. Furthermore, his nine strikeouts were just one shy of his career-high (10) which he recorded in his final start of 2016, a complete game against Holy Names.
 
Entering the bottom of the ninth trailing 1-0, Academy of Art put together their best scoring chance of the evening. Junior infielder Taylor Martin led off the frame with a single to center field which set up a perfect sacrifice bunt from junior catcher Tyler Harry who entered the game as a pinch hitter. Harry's bunt was executed in the at-bat's second pitch which kept the momentum alive and was fed even further by another critical pinch-hit performance from sophomore Robert "Gio" Villanueva. The Architecture major singled with a slow chopper to the shortstop deep into the hole which set up runners at first and third with only one out. However, neither of the next two batters were able to come through, cutting the Urban Knights' rally short.
 
ART U will have a chance for redemption in Saturday's second and third games of the series with a Noon and 3:00 p.m. double header scheduled at Laney College.