OAKLAND, Calif. – Game two of the four-part set between Academy of Art baseball and UH Hilo was a seesaw contest that swung back and forth in the early goings, and was decided by the only multi-run frame as Hilo scored four times in the top of the seventh to eventually steal a 7-4 victory. 

Taking the mound in the top of the first, Urban Knights' (12-20, 5-13 PacWest) junior righty starter Koh Maeda worked through a one-out single in the top of the first to leave the Vulcans' (19-11, 10-9 PacWest) runner stranded. ART U took a 1-0 lead just three batters into their trip to the dish as senior outfielder Hayato Niki singled to reach base before a towering fly ball down the left field line by graduate student outfielder Travis Turney turned into an RBI double, as the ball landed just outside the reach of the diving left fielder. 

Though Hilo earned the run back thanks to small ball putting a runner in scoring position for a two-out RBI single, Academy of Art wasted no time getting the lead back when graduate student outfielder Landon Levine blasted the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a solo home run. That marked his fourth dinger of the campaign thus far, which has now pushed him into a tie for fifth-most homers in a single ART U season along with six other Urban Knights, including current teammate in sophomore third baseman Emil Jellinek (2022). 

After both sides were retired in order during the third, each squad scored once more in their half of the fourth starting when the Vulcans launched a big fly of their own from Kein Iwatta. However, redshirt junior catcher Liam Rizzo started the ART U response with a double before a Levine single with one out put runners at the corners, setting up sophomore first baseman Ryne Lina to collect the RBI on a fielder's choice though no out was recorded thanks to an error on the Hilo second baseman. 

It felt like déjà vu in the fifth when both sides pushed across another run each, the Vulcans doing so on a sacrifice fly after starting the frame with a double and a stolen base. Meanwhile, ART U showed off their fundamentals when freshman shortstop Gabe Henderson laid down a sacrifice bunt to move sophomore second baseman Larry Fonseca into scoring position after he had singled, with Fonseca crossing the plate in the next at-bat on a Niki RBI single into left. 

Both sides threatened with runners in scoring position but left them stranded during the sixth, as Maeda was able to get two crucial strikeouts to escape his danger before the Knights met a similar fate in the home half of the inning. Maeda would then exit the game with a quality start, having allowed just three earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and a walk. 

In the top of the seventh was the only time either team scored multiple runs in an inning, as the Vulcans struck four times in a frame that included four hits and an error. Despite Academy of Art putting a runner on in each of the final three innings, they were unable to match their opponent as Hilo secured the 7-4 victory. 

Entering the game in relief and collecting the win for Hilo was Ty Honda, who tossed just one inning but did not allow a base runner while striking out one. Earning a six-out save was Christian Wood, his second of the season, throwing two scoreless innings without a hit allowed and three strikeouts. Charged with the loss for ART U was junior right-hander Fernando Dueñas, as his record dropped to 2-4. 

Academy of Art's four runs came on a total of eight hits, with Niki and Levine posting multi-hit games to lead the way. Nikj went 2-for-4 with a run scored and driven in, and extended his current hitting streak to 10 games which ties the team-high this season (also: Levine). Meanwhile, Levine finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and driven in as well, bumping his season total to 26 to take sole possession of seventh-most in an ART U season. Four others tallied hits including Turney, who was 1-for-4 with an RBI to extend his reached base safely streak to 16 games, which is already tops on the Knights. 

Both sides will be back to the diamond tomorrow to finish this four-game set with games three and four in doubleheader format beginning at 1 and 4 p.m.