IRVINE, Calif. – The finale of a four-game Pacific West Conference series between Academy of Art baseball and Concordia on Sunday was one for the record books, as sophomore lefty starter Brian Kraft tossed ART U's second no-hitter in program history and struck out a career high 10 batters, which helped ART U split the day's twin bill and ultimately the series. 

"The series this weekend was hard fought against one of the top teams in the PacWest," said ART U Head Coach Dan McDermott. "We did a really good job hitting the ball and had 39 hits during the series."

Following the day's first contest in which the Urban Knights (12-18, 5-11 PacWest) had staked an early 4-0 lead but saw it disappear in the latter stages to the Golden Eagles (13-13, 8-7 PacWest), Kraft provided an energy jolt to the squad with his performance as he went the distance in the shortened second game without allowing a single hit and punching out a career-high 10 batters, though the game ended with an 8-1 final due to four walks and an error. In all it was just the second Academy of Art no-hitter in school history, joining Ben Kaser who did so in another seven inning game against Simpson on Feb. 17, 2018 in a 1-0 shutout win. 

"Our starting pitching was great," McDermott said. "Brian Kraft delivered just what our team needed by coming out in the final game and delivering a gem. His effort rallied the team behind him as everyone was excited to see him return to form in throwing such a dominant performance."

Collecting six total hits on the day was redshirt junior catcher Liam Rizzo, who was a combined 6-for-9 (.667) with two runs driven in and one scored, while graduate student outfielder Travis Turney was hot on his tails with five of his own (5-for-8; .625) with a double, triple, two runs scored and two RBI. 

GAME ONE – CUI 6, ART U 4
Matched up against one of the PacWest's top pitchers this season in CUI's Riley O'Sullivan, who had entered the contest with a 0.78 ERA and 0.61 WHIP, Academy of Art went to work right away with a pair of consecutive one-out singles, but both were left stranded. Concordia had base runners of their own in both the first and second innings, but was unable to move them around the bases to score. 

In the third was when ART U finally reached the scoreboard, posting three straight hits combined with an error that started on a single into center by freshman shortstop Gabe Henderson. Following was senior outfielder Hayato Niki with his own RBI single into center, and then advanced to second base on an error, putting him into scoring position for the Turney double to left in the next at-bat that made the game 2-0. 

After a quick fourth, the Urban Knights added two more in the away half of the fifth after Henderson started the inning by reaching on an error and stealing second base. Niki would sacrifice him over to third with a bunt, though it hardly mattered as Turney ripped a triple into right center that reached the wall and drove in his second run of the game. Turney did not wait on base long, as Rizzo lined an RBI single to left that made the score 4-0. 

Tossing a gem was junior right-hander Devan Quesada, who left in line for the win after tossing a quality start with six scoreless innings while giving up just three hits along with five strikeouts and one walk. Unfortunately the lead did not hold, as the Golden Eagles sliced the deficit in half on one swing in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a Nick Hansen two-run homer, then completed the comeback in the home half of the eighth thanks to a four-spot. Two singles set up a sacrifice fly for the first run, and after a later intentional walk, a two-out, three-run blast by Nathan Benefeito put CUI on top for good. 

ART U also chased O'Sullivan after the sixth frame meaning he did not factor into the decision, though the Knights were not able to get to Matthew Williams who appeared in relief for his second win of the season, allowing no runs on one hit in two innings. Concordia had three relievers combine to secure the victory in the top of the ninth, with Jake McBride earning his first save of the year. Taking the loss was junior right-hander Fernando Dueñas, who saw his record drop to 2-3. 

Both Turney and Rizzo had a three-hit game, with Turney going 3-for-5 with a double, triple, run scored and two RBI, while Rizzo was 3-for-5 with the lone run driven in. Niki tallied yet another multi-hit game by going 2-for-4 with a run scored and driven in, while four others also tallied a hit. 

GAME TWO – ART U 8, CUI 1
Though the pitching was the key to seven-inning contest, Academy of Art's bats took center stage first as ART U tallied four runs in just the first two innings that included a three-spot in the top of the second. A pair of one-out singles set the stage for a two-out RBI single from redshirt sophomore designated hitter Patrick Morgan, while the following frame was highlighted by a pair of back-to-back RBI doubles from junior second baseman Larry Fonseca and Henderson, and later included another run scored on a wild pitch. 

Concordia did manage to scrape together a run in the home half of the fourth as Michael Dixon reached on a walk and stolen second, then moved up to third on a sacrifice fly before crossing the plate on a wild pitch. The run ultimately proved to be futile as the Knights added two to the lead in the fifth with three consecutive singles that was aided by a stolen base, with Morgan collecting the RBI before graduate student outfielder Landon Levine added one of his own on a sacrifice fly. Meanwhile in the sixth, ART U was rewarded with a run after a CUI error with two runners on, then saw a bases loaded RBI single from Rizzo to push the final to 8-1. 

It was quite the ending to the game for Kraft, who retired each of the final five Concordia hitters in order while sitting down four via the punch out. Overall it was a total of 10 strikeouts for Kraft, which sets his new career high and is also the most in an ART U game this season (tied for sixth-most in program history). The victory marked his first of the season, improving his record to 1-2. Taking the loss was Mason Metcalfe, who was tagged for four earned runs on five hits in just 1.2 innings pitched. 

For the 11th time this campaign Academy of Art totaled 10 hits or more, falling one-shy of their season-high 13 which they've done twice. Rizzo had yet another three-hit game by going 3-for-5 with a run scored and driven in, pushing his RBI total to 26 which is now seventh-most in a single ART U season. Matching him in hits was Morgan who was also 3-for-5 with a double, driving in his own pair of runs as well. Also among the most productive at the dish was Fonseca, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Though he was 0-for-4, Levine picked up an RBI on his sacrifice fly and is now at 25 on the season, tying him for eighth-most in an ART U single season. 

It will be a short turnaround for Academy of Art, as th Urban Knights return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 4 at 6 p.m. when they begin a four-game PacWest series with UH Hilo.