Box Score #1
Box Score #2
Moraga, CA --- Junior right-handed starting pitcher Darnell Quinney (0-9) struck out eight batters in the Urban Knights' second contest against Grand Canyon University (25-17 overall, 15-9 PacWest) to set the new Academy of Art University strikeout record. In the final two games of the PacWest series, AAU (4-32 overall, 2-22 PacWest) fell to the Antelopes twice, 9-4 and 7-1, on Saturday at Louis Guisto Baseball Field in Moraga, CA.
Prior to Quinney's highlights, sophomore starter Alex Rosenthal (1-7) notched a milestone of his own. The righty tossed a career-high 6.0 innings on the mound in a gutsy game one performance. Rosenthal got support from the Knights' offense in the first two innings and kept his squad close enough for a potential victory.
Junior second baseman Ryan Worley hit his second triple of the season to begin the game on a positive note. Worley scored shortly thereafter on a groundout by sophomore centerfielder Johnathan Robbins. Down 4-1 in the second, Academy of Art suddenly unleashed a three-run rally. Singles by senior right fielder Mike Gutierrez and freshman shortstop Stefen Henderson set the table for sophomore left fielder Kallen Fletcher who drove both home on two-run double. Fletcher was plated by Worley's RBI single and the teams were now tied 4-4.
Strong pitching by Rosenthal and Grand Canyon produced a scoreless third, but the 'Lopes managed to break the tie in the fourth. Although Rosenthal allowed three more runs before exiting, he finished off an incredible 130-pitch outing with a clutch strikeout to keep GCU off the scoreboard in the sixth.
“[Getting out of that situation] showed that Alex is starting to learn how to pitch and hit his spots,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “After getting through first couple of innings and he is finding a groove and pitching with confidence. Today his pitch count got high so we had to remove him, but other than that, I'm sure he would have gone the rest of the way. He definitely pitched well enough to win; we just have to do more for him offensively.”
The bottom half of that inning saw AAU nearly spark a two-out comeback as Henderson walked and sophomore catcher Brandon Kistler doubled for his second hit of the game. The Antelopes, however, was able to get out of the jam and hold on for the 9-4 victory.
In his game one start, Rosenthal posted two efficient 15-pitch frames over 6.0 innings, the most of his Urban Knight career, while allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits with one strikeout. Sophomore lefty Zach Mexicano made his second relief appearance in as many days and pitched one scoreless inning with one hit allowed.
Quinney was the undoubtedly the hero for Academy of Art both defensively and offensively in the second contest. His powerful pitching performance started off with a pair of strikeouts in his first inning on the mound. The junior right-hander then assumed a temporary lead after the Urban Knights put together a two-hit rally in the third. It was none other than Quinney himself who drove in Robbins with a RBI double on the first pitch of his at-bat.
The advantage lasted until the next inning when a home run by GCU's Colin Courtland re-tied the game. Gutierrez tried to get AAU back ahead with a leadoff double in the fourth, but he was later left stranded as Grand Canyon's pitching got the outs its needed to come away unscathed. While the 'Lopes rallied for five more runs over the fifth and sixth en route to the 7-1 win, Quinney still managed to strike out at least one batter in every inning.
“Darnell made some quality pitches when he had to,” Coach Guinn said. “Behind 3-1, he would come back to strike them out on two pitches. It was a big confidence boost for him and most of all; he had command of his breaking ball today. It was really working for him and he was able to throw it out of the strikezone as a pitcher's pitch. Hopefully we can build from his and Rosie's performances.”
When all was said and done, Quinney had reached the 6.0 innings mark for the fourth time in his career, allowing six runs on seven hits with the new program record in strikeouts (8). Kistler came in to pitch the final inning of the game, allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout.
The starting pitching for Academy of Art in the Saturday doubleheader was very impressive. Rosenthal and Quinney combined to go 12.0 of the 14.0 total innings on the hill. With a complete 6.0 innings of work, Rosenthal topped his previous high (5.2) set against Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 22, 2009. The eight strikeouts by Quinney were twice as many as his previous high which he attained three times before (once this year).
“Both starters were throwing strikes and had command of their pitches today,” Coach Guinn said. “The guys also played some great defense behind them and enabled Alex and Darnell to extend their innings out there.”
In game one, Worley had his fifth three-hit game of 2010 in the first contest while adding a run scored and one RBI as well. Henderson matched his season-high with two walks in that game and also scored one run of his own. Fletcher and Kistler were major offensive contributors in the first part of the doubleheader. The pair combined to go 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run. Five different Urban Knights had a hit in game two, including the big RBI single by Quinney that gave AAU the lead. Gutierrez had a hit in each of Saturday's games and now has registered hits in seven of his last eight games.
“Mike is having some quality at-bats and that's what we've been preaching the entire time,” Coach Guinn said. “He's been able to read, balance, and putting the ball into play. He's really starting to set himself up to hit good pitches. Our philosophy is to put as much pressure on the defense as possible so his speed has been valuable as well.”
Grand Canyon was led offensively by right fielder Tyler Bair for the second consecutive day. Bair was 3-for-7 with five RBIs, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Righty Colin Courtland evened his record at 4-4 with the victory in game one. He pitched 5.0 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. The winning pitcher in game two was lefty Justin McKee (3-3) who threw 4.0 innings for GCU, giving up one run on five hits while striking out two.
With the Grand Canyon series complete, Academy of Art now has four non-conference contests scheduled before its next PacWest opponent. The Knights start by facing Patten University this Friday, Apr. 16 at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA. First pitch of the single nine-inning contest is set for 11:00 AM and it will be Senior Day for Gutierrez.
“From day one to today, we've had comments from umpires and fans saying that the kids have improved tremendously,” Coach Guinn said. “And we need to tip our caps to the kids because this program definitely has a bright future.”
