ALAMEDA, Calif. – All of the scoring in game one of four between Academy of Art baseball and Holy Names all came in the middle innings, but despite ART U striking twice initially, HNU scored five unanswered runs to come back and take the opener of this Pacific West Conference series by a 5-2 final. 

Facing off for their first meeting in two months since they split a four-game non-conference set, neither team could get much offense going in the early innings with the exception of pair of base knocks for the Urban Knights (11-32, 5-20) by senior outfielder Ty Conrad and senior first baseman Vincent Lontz. In the home half of the third, the Hawks (16-26, 7-18 PacWest) put together a rally that included a leadoff double and eventually saw runners at the corners with no outs, but ART U senior right-handed starter Collin Carriger was able to get a strikeout, a pick off, and a final groundout to work out of the inning. 

Riding the momentum of escaping the jam, the Knights responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, starting things off with a walk to graduate student outfielder Travis Turney before another Conrad single moved runners to the corners. After a subsequent steal of second base by Conrad, sophomore designated hitter Liam Rizzo drove home the game's first run with an RBI groundout to shortstop. Conrad would once again get a free 90 feet when he advanced on a passed ball during the next at-bat by Lontz, who then finished the job by lacing a single into left center to score Conrad and push the game to 2-0. 

The lead did not last long as the Hawks responded with a trio of runs in the bottom half of the frame, opening the inning with a double and a walk to set the stage for a two-RBI double just two batters later. A pair of errors would allow the inning to continue, with the second ultimately allowing the third run of the inning to cross the plate. 

HNU's lead continued to grow during their at-bats in the home half of the fifth, as a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases prior to a single into center field that drove in two HNU runs, making the score 5-2. ART U would put a pair of runners on the corners in the top half of the ninth with two outs, but both runners were left stranded. 

Though he would take the loss, Carriger pitched 7.0 innings of solid ball with five runs allowed, though only two were earned, on six hits while striking out five and walking four. Sophomore Dallen Turner pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the eighth, allowing just a single hit. HNU starter Ryu Umeda was credited with the win, his second of the season, while Noah Barros picked up his first save of the year. 

Both Conrad and Lontz ended with multi-hit games, as the duo accounted for four of ART U's five knocks on the day. Conrad closed game one 2-for-4 with a run scored while Lontz was 2-for-3 with an RBI and senior utility player Ryan Skillman snatched the final ART U hit when he went 1-for-2 in an appearance off the bench. 

This PacWest series continues tomorrow with games two and three from Pat Bail Field at the College of Alameda, with first pitch times set for 1 and 4 p.m.