OAKLAND, Calif. – It took 11 innings, but senior catcher Marciano Reichel opened up the series against Hawaii Pacific, and fittingly, senior weekend with a walkoff single to defeat the Sharks 6-5.
 
In order the claim the win, ART U had to do so in comeback-fashion as they immediately found themselves behind with runs from HPU in the first and third innings. However, the Urban Knights took a 2-run lead in the bottom of the fifth which all got started with a single from junior infielder Robert "Gio" Villanueva (his second of the game). He was moved over two pitches later when senior infielder Taylor Martin managed to put down a sacrifice bunt, making way for junior Taj Dawson who reached first on a 5-pitch walk. Then, with two outs and runners on first and second, junior infielder Josh Carlin sent a double over the left fielder's head which allowed both Villanueva and Dawson to score, tying the game at two runs apiece. Two more runs came in during the frame thanks to a pair of HPU errors, permitting both Carlin and eventually, senior outfielder Evan Ray to score.
 
Now with a 4-2 advantage, junior right-hander Angel Mora, and the Knights' game one starter, headed back out to the mound. However, the Torrance, Calif. native quickly found himself in trouble when he allowed a leadoff walk who eventually scored on a double with one out. With one out and runners on first and second, junior righty Donnie Gardiner came in to pitch in his ninth appearance of the season.
 
Gardiner carried the team's 4-3 lead through a total of 2.0 innings, but a run was charged to his total in the top of the eighth after being relieved by senior right-hander Chris Rost with one out and the bases loaded. Rost quickly got the second out when a ground ball came right to the mound allowing him to make the force out at home. Then, with a 1-2 count on the following batter, Rost threw a wild pitch which allowed the tying run to score from third.
 
However, it did not take long for ART U to regain the lead as in the bottom of the same inning, Reichel drove in senior outfielder Jackson Murphy from second with a single through the left-side. Now with a one run, 5-4 lead, the Urban Knights headed to the ninth, needing just three more outs to take home the win. But, Hawaii Pacific had a different plan in mind: a leadoff bloop-single, a stolen base, a lineout, and a sacrifice fly allowed the Sharks to plate the tying run, with the score now at 6-6.
 
After ART U was unable to score in the bottom of the ninth, Rost was lights out over the next couple of innings as he did not allow a hit and struck out two batters in the 10th and 11th frames. Meanwhile, the Urban Knights were unable to mount a rally themselves until the bottom of the 11th: senior Mike Maleski, led off the frame with a single through the left side on the first pitch he saw. Then, with a 1-1 count, senior outfielder Izac Bauer produced another base hit to move Maleski up to second. Now, with no outs and runners on first and second, Reichel found himself with the ability to put the Knights ahead for the second-straight at-bat. He did not miss his opportunity as he sent a base hit up the middle, allowing Maleski to score to the winning run, and ART U to take the series-opener 6-5.
 
With the win, Academy of Art continues their home cooking, now having won 11 of their last 12 games on their home field. The team is now 22-10 overall, and 17-16 in PacWest-play. The win was made possible by multiple clutch performances from the Urban Knights, including both Reichel (2-for-5, 2 RBI), and Villanueva (2-for-4, 1R). Also, Carlin went 1-for-4 with a run-scored and two RBI while Murphy reached base twice on two walks and scored two crucial runs, thanks to stealing three bases which is tied for the second most in a single game in program-history.
 
ART U and HPU will be back at it for game two at Laney College on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Live stats can be found here.