HILO, Hawaii -- The Urban Knights dropped both games of the doubleheader Saturday night versus UH Hilo, despite out-hitting the Vulcans in game one and a strong pitching performance from senior pitcher Mason Verhees in game two.

"This was a tough road trip," said head coach Dan McDermott. "There were enough little things that we failed to execute that would have changed the outcome. I am proud of how the team battled and now we need to get smarter."

Game One: UHH 9, ART U 5
For the second night in a row senior first baseman Josh Carlin led the game off with a walk and came around to score. Junior shortstop Justin Summers was the one who drove him in on a single into center field. Senior catcher Zak May added another run with a sacrifice fly to score junior outfielder Thomas Delgadillo and put ART U up 2-0 early.

The Vulcans tied the game in the bottom of the second on a failed pickoff attempt at third base and a sacrifice bunt. The lead bounced back and forth from there with ART U scoring one in the third for a 3-2 lead and UHH getting it right back with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. Academy of Art got two back in the top of the sixth on a senior second basemen Elijah Smith base hit up the middle to score Carlin and a wild pitch that junior third baseman Fabian Barcena was able to score on. UHH matched the Knights' two runs in the bottom half of the inning for a 9-5 lead where it would stay.

Game one saw a trio of Urban Knights collect three hits: sophomore utility Noah Daubin, Barcena, and Summers. The game also encompassed a strong outing by senior pitcher Angel Mora who threw 5.1 innings allowing only one earned run and striking out four.  

Game Two: UHH 2, ART U 0
Starting his second game of the series, Verhees took to the mound in hopes of salvaging a win for the Knights. The senior righty threw well enough to earn it, ending with 5.1 innings pitched, four hits, one earned run, and four strikeouts, but ART U could not get going offensively. The Vulcan's first run came in the second inning on the combination of a leadoff single, stolen base, and error. It would be all UHH needed but they added another in next inning on a pair of base hits. Academy of Art strung together back to back hits in the fourth, but a double play prevented the would be rally.  

"The boys are looking forward to getting back to practice this week and working to get better," said McDermott. "We have a very tough Concordia squad coming to town and we need to be at the top of our game for them."

After their series with the Vulcans, Academy of Art moves to 12-14 overall and 4-11 in conference. ART U will regroup in the Bay for a series with Concordia starting April 4 at 6 p.m. at Laney College in Oakland.