OAKLAND, Calif. – Another home game, another victory. Academy of Art rode the back of junior right-hander Ben Kaser to their 12th victory in 13 games at their home field, taking a 2-0 series lead over Hawaii Pacific.
 
Kaser was stellar in his 11th start this season, tossing his career-first 9-inning complete game. The Van Nuys, Calif. native only allowed one run (earned) in his outing, conceding just five hits and four walks while striking out five. With the win, he is now 6-4 on the season and his six victories tie Nate Gercken (2015) for the program-lead in single-season wins. Kaser came out on top of what was a classic pitchers' duel, as HPU's Joshua Muneno was lights out as well (8.0 innings pitched, no earned runs, four hits, five strikeouts).
 
The Urban Knights found themselves without a hit entering the fourth inning, but a leadoff single from junior infielder Elijah Smith changed the direction of the game. After Smith stole second, ART U took advantage of a pair of errors to plate their first run, taking a 1-0 lead. Then, with runners at first and third with one out, senior outfielder Izac Bauer lined a single into center field, allowing junior infielder Angel Mora to score from third. The Knights' rally came to a halt when the next batter flew out to right field, but ART U left the inning with a 2-0 lead.
 
Kaser returned to the mound in the top of the fifth and delivered a shut-down inning. In the following frame, the right-hander escaped a big jam with two outs: runners stood at second and third with two outs when Kaser threw a wild pitch into the dirt, sending the runner at third into a sprint for home plate. However, junior catcher Zak May managed to get to the ball with enough time to throw the runner out at the plate to end the inning.
 
The Sharks pushed their first run of the game across in the eighth thanks another wild pitch. However, eyeing the complete game, Kaser trotted back out in the ninth inning to finish what he had started. HPU made things interesting in the final frame as their leadoff hitter quickly found himself onboard thanks a single to right field. A sacrifice bunt on the next pitch advanced the runner to second, but HPU now found themselves with the tying run in scoring position with just one out. However, Kaser managed to induce a flyout on the following pitch and then struck the final batter out looking to end the game, with Academy of Art winning 2-1.
 
The Urban Knights' two biggest offensive contributors were May and Bauer whose runs batted in allowed the team to snag the victory on Friday night. Now, ART U is 23-20 overall and 18-16 in conference-play. The team now sits in fifth-place in the PacWest standings, just below Biola.
 
Academy of Art will return to Laney College one more time for the 2018 season, facing Hawaii Pacific in a Noon and 3:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday to end the series. The afternoon will also be featuring a celebration of Senior Day where the team's 12 seniors will be honored for their accomplishments throughout their careers in a pregame ceremony. Live Stats can be found here.