St. George, Utah (3/16/09) -- Competing in its first two games in nearly three weeks, the Academy of Art University baseball team fell 13-0 in its opening contest with the Dixie State Red Storm and then 10-0 in the second one on Monday. Junior right fielder Mike Gutierrez had two hits in the first game and freshman left fielder Alex Rosenthal recorded two of the Urban Knights' three hits in game two, but otherwise the AAU bats were relatively quiet. One explosive inning by DXC in each of the contests put the home team comfortably in front.

Box Score #1

In the first game, Dixie State got on the board in the opening inning with a two RBI double by Alex Rosenhan, however, the Knights responded with a leadoff double by Gutierrez in the next inning. He reached third on a muffed throw by the shortstop and though he was in scoring position with no outs, he was eventually picked off by the Red Storm. Rosenhan struck again in the third inning when he hit a two-run homer to left field.

The early offense by Rosenhan and a rough nine-run fourth inning in which Jesse Stone hit a grand slam allowed junior right-handed pitcher Danny Couser (0-1) to only manage four and two thirds innings for Academy of Art University. In just his second start of the season, Couser unfortunately surrendered 13 runs (nine earned) on nine hits with six walks and three strikeouts.  Although the game was out of reach for AAU, one bright spot was a scoreless inning and a third from freshman right-handed pitcher Edgar Zelaya who has not allowed a run in his three appearances.


Box Score #2

Game two was close for the first two innings because even though Dixie State loaded the bases in the first inning, the home squad only got a single unearned run out of it. The third inning turned out to be disastrous for the Knights, however, when Drew Oldfield tripled with the bases loaded and walks as well as passed balls spelled the difference. Sophomore righty Darnell Quinney (0-4) would be removed from the game after allowing eight runs (six earned) on six hits with nine walks and three strikeouts in three and a third innings pitched. Freshman lefty Zach Mexicano came on in relief of Quinney and gave up two runs (none earned) in two and two thirds innings on the mound.

Dixie State would add four more runs over the next three innings while Academy of Art University was held to just three hits in the ballgame. AAU did coax three walks in the contest, but it was not enough to avoid the shutout.

Gutierrez, who had not played since Feb. 21 due to injury, finished the day 2-for-5 with a double while senior catcher Florentino Ubungen was 1-for-2 with a walk in the first game. The loss puts the Urban Knights' overall record at 0-11 while DXC now stands at 10-8.

For the Red Storm, Skyler Southwick got the win in the first game with five innings of scoreless ball and four strikeouts. Tyson Bailey had a similar line in game two where he also pitched five innings without allowing a run and struck out four Knights. Offensively, Stone had the best day at the plate for DXC with three hits, seven RBI and three runs scored.

The series between the Urban Knights and the Red Storm concludes tomorrow with another doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 11:00 AM (PT).