Box Score #1
Box Score #2

Phoenix, AZ -- On getaway day in Phoenix, the Urban Knights showed exactly what result a complete game can give you by earning their first win of the 2012 campaign in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader, as they rode the left arm of Zach Mexicano and the bat of Stefen Henderson to a 3-2 victory. The second game was another close one, but a big inning late by Grand Canyon put the Knights away in the nightcap 4-1. 

But the first game was complete in every sense of the word. The Knights played defense. They knocked out eight hits, including five doubles. And Zach Mexicano had a career start, becoming only the second pitcher in ART U history to pitch a complete-game, nine-inning victory.

Grand Canyon actually started off the scoring, when Nick Chapman doubled to lead off the first inning. Ernesto Ortiz sacrificed him to third, and then Chapman scored on a wild pitch. But PacWest batting leader Michael Pomeroy struck out, and Derek Mendoza flied out to left to end the inning.

The Knights got on the board in the second inning, when Jared DePatto was hit by a pitch. Stefen Henderson hit his first double of the day, driving in a run. James Singzon sacrificed him over to third, and then Henderson scored on an error by Lopes pitcher Justin Lindsey, giving the Knights the 2-1 lead.

GCU equalized in the bottom half of the inning, and then neither team could get anything going in the third. Then Myles Babitt came to the plate in the fourth and doubled to left field. DePatto hit a fly ball deep enough to get the speedy freshman over to third, and then Henderson ripped his second double of the day to left-center, scoring Babitt easily.

And that was all the Urban Knights needed. Zach Mexicano employed the "bend, don't break" strategy to perfection, not overpowering the Antelopes (two strikeouts) but upsetting their timing enough and using his defense to get out of innings. Grand Canyon got runners on first and third with one out in the fifth but Mexicano got two fly balls to get out of it. Pomeroy singled to lead off the sixth, but Mexicano induced a 5-4-3 double play to eliminate him.

Meanwhile, the Urban Knights kept the pressure on the Lopes pitchers. Johnathan Robbins was on third when the fifth inning ended. The Knights had runners on second and third with one out in the sixth, but Myles Babitt was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice. They had the bases loaded in the seventh with two outs but couldn't get a run across. And they also got two more runners on in the ninth inning, but there was no change in the score.

Mexicano was determined to finish the job, and retired the side in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the ninth, he got two quick outs, and then countered an infield single by Joey Bristyan with a flyout to center field to earn the Knights first win of the season. He finished up giving up seven hits and two runs, striking out two and only walking one. Henderson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two doubles, also scoring a run. Myles Babitt was also 2-for-4 with a run. 


Game two shaped up to be another pitcher's duel, as Wade Broadstreet and Coley Bruns went at it in the series finale. ART U struck in the top of the first inning, when Bryce Hutchings singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Myles Babitt then got the RBI groundout to get the Urban Knights on the board.

Broadstreet held it down, wriggling out of trouble in the first when he walked Charles Wagner to load the bases. The Knights had a chance in the top of the third, getting runners on second and third with only one out, but weren't able to push anyone across. That's when things settled down. Neither team got a runner on base until the fifth inning, and after Myles Babitt grounded out with his brother Zach on third base, the Lopes broke through for a run in the bottom of the inning

In the bottom of the sixth, the Lopes rallied again, scoring three runs on five hits off of Broadstreet, who finished the inning. But the damage was done. Niko Leite walked to lead off the seventh, and Hutchings walked two batters later to get the tying run to the plate, but Babitt grounded into a force, with Hutchings forced out at second to end the game.

Hutchings was on three times, with two hits and a walk. Zach Babitt, Kenny Rollins, Jr., and Leite also had both a walk and a hit each. Broadstreet struck out four and only walked one, but the eight hits and four runs were enough to saddle him with the loss.

The Knights will have a week off before flying to St. George, UT to take on Dixie State for back-to-back doubleheaders.