Box Score

Turlock, CA – Despite rallying in four separate innings of Friday's game, Academy of Art University ultimately fell 18-8 to Cal State Stanislaus at Warrior Baseball Field. The Urban Knights were right with the Warriors for the first half of the contest, but a late push by CSUS spelled the difference. Senior infielder Darnell Quinney and junior catcher Kenny Rollins, Jr. combined to go 4-for-7 on the day with three runs batted in, two runs scored, and one stolen base.

“The approach to hitting is finding holes and that's what we've been preaching: Have an idea, hit the ball hard somewhere, and see what happens,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said.

The Knights used speed at the top of their lineup to quickly score a run in the first inning and take the lead early. Senior outfielder Johnathan Robbins hit an infield single and after senior outfielder Ryan Worley bunted his teammate to second, Robbins came home on a single by sophomore infielder Zach Babitt. Though the Warriors responded by scoring three in their half of the first, just one was earned.

A two-run rally by Academy of Art then came in the third inning beginning with a single by freshman Wade Broadstreet. After a walk to Robbins, both runners executed a double steal followed by back-to-back RBI singles delivered by Babitt and Quinney to tie the game, 3-3. Cal State Stanislaus would retake another larger lead by the fifth, but ART U did not go away.

“We're getting better, we just have to catch the ball,” Coach Guinn said. “Some little things are hurting us right now, but the mistakes we make are correctable. We're going to have some growing pains. Cal State Stanislaus has senior-oriented team, and we're still young, but at some point we'll catch up.”

In the sixth inning, the Knights reeled off two more runs to make the score 8-5 in favor of the Warriors. ART U was active on the base paths as Quinney and junior outfielder Niko Leite each stole bases before Rollins, Jr. brought both runners home on a single to right field. The Warriors managed to create more separation with a seven-run seventh, though the Urban Knights were not yet finished.

Much like its last game against Concordia (CA), Academy of Art put together its largest rally of the afternoon late in the contest. In the eighth, Quinney was hit by a pitch and Leite capitalized on an error by the Stanislaus pitcher resulting in two Knights on base. Then three consecutive walks had the ART U batters strategically taking pitches to lengthen the rally. The Urban Knights ended up putting three runs on the board in the inning. CSUS eventually went on to win 18-8, but Academy of Art has never gone more than two innings without scoring over its last two games.

“We're going to score some runs,” Coach Guinn said. “We have a very fast team and they're learning. Their approach to hitting is just so much better. I'm happy with the offensive output; we just have to step it up defensively.”

After showing his pitching talent last weekend, Quinney, a Preseason All-PacWest Team selection, executed with the bat on Friday. He was instrumental in three of the Knights' rallies, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Rollins, Jr. added a 2-for-3 day with two RBIs while Babitt also had two RBIs, going 1-for-4. At the top of the lineup, Robbins was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and his second steal of the season. Junior left-handed starting pitcher Zach Mexicano (0-2) went 6.0 innings on the mound with 11 runs allowed (six earned) on 13 hits. Academy of Art is now 0-3 on the season.

The Warriors were led offensively by outfielder Fred Atkins who was 2-for-5 in the game with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored. Outfielder David Contreras also had a homer Friday, finishing 1-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Warriors starting pitcher Kory Wallace (1-0) threw 5.1 innings and surrendered five earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts. Cal State Stanislaus moves to 3-0 in 2011.

The ART U-CSUS series rolls on tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 12, with a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled to be thrown at 11:00 AM at Warrior Baseball Field.