OAKLAND, Calif. – Luke Lacy took to the mound in Academy of Art's 2018 PacWest Opener and put together a gem, posting strikeouts for each of his first nine outs. However, the close duel between ART U and Fresno Pacific quickly turned the way of the Sunbirds in the later innings: FPU scored nine runs in the eighth and ninth which sealed the Knights' 7-run, 12-5 loss.
 
Lacy looked untouchable to start Thursday's contest, plowing through six straight hitters by way of a strikeout. In the third however, he ran into trouble as FPU managed to score three runs after their first three runners found their way aboard the base paths. Despite allowing the runs to cross the plate, Lacy still recorded each out in the inning with a punchout.
 
Meanwhile, the Urban Knights had taken the lead in the opening frame when senior outfielder Jackson Murphy came through with a single to center field, scoring junior infielder Elijah Smith from second. Fresno Pacific's 3-run third erased ART U's deficit, but the Urban Knights pulled within one run in fourth inning: with two outs and the bases empty, senior outfielder Evan Ray sent a monstrous home run over the left field wall, making it a 3-2 ballgame.
 
This score stood pat over the next three innings while Lacy continued to put zeros on the scoreboard. The Valencia, Calif. native finished his outing with a career-high, 13 strikeouts while allowing three earned runs off of five hits and four walks.
 
However, the Sunbirds' bats came alive in the eighth as they scored a pair, then rattled off seven more in the ninth to take a 12-2 lead. ART U responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs. Two of which came off of the bat of junior Donnie Gardiner who pinch hit for senior infielder Brennan Mauchline. With one out and the bases loaded, Gardiner sent a double into right center which rolled to the wall, scoring two in the process. Despite three runs crossing the plate, their comeback was not enough and Academy of Art fell by the score of 12-5.
 
Ray was the only Knight with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a run, a run batted in, and a walk. Gardiner was the most effective off of the bench as his hit in the 9th gave him a 1-for-1 day and two RBI (the most for ART U.)
 
Now 5-5 overall and 0-1 in the PacWest, the Urban Knights will take on the Sunbirds on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. for the second installment of the four-game set.