Box Score

Phoenix, AZ -- Fresh off a three-week break, the Academy of Art University baseball team jumped out to an early lead against their first conference opponent of the year in Grand Canyon. But the Antelopes, whose high-powered offense returned the top two hitters in the conference from last year, saw their bats awaken in the latter half of the game, ending starter Nate Gercken's scoreless innings streak and taking the first of a four-game series by a score of 11-3.

Gercken took the hill for the Urban Knights riding a streak of 8.1 innings without an earned run to start the year, and got through the first inning with no problem. But the 'Lopes snapped that streak in the bottom of the second. Gercken worked through a leadoff triple, inducing a soft comebacker and then a fielder's choice that cut down the runner at home, but then the second triple of the inning, this time by Harlyn Griffiths, knocked in a run and ended Gercken's streak at 10 scoreless innings.

The Urban Knights came right back in the top of the third, adding an unearned run on an RBI single by Myles Babitt, his second hit of the game. Tino Leite, making his ART U debut, had reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch before Babitt singled him in. Academy of Art added another in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Leite, scoring Henderson who had doubled to lead off the inning, and the Knights had a 2-1 lead through four and a half.

Grand Canyon tied it back up in the bottom of the fifth after Leite made an error to start off the inning. Catcher Chris Lindmark hit a triple to score Griffiths, and then scored on an infield single by Nick Chapman to make it 3-2. A single by Derek Mendoza added another run, and the fourth triple of the first five innings, this time by Steven Swingle, gave GCU a 5-2 lead.

The Antelopes would score one more off of Gercken, who got through five and two-thirds innings before giving way to Yoshi Uemura. Uemura gave up two in the seventh and three more in the eighth as the 'Lopes took control, and despite yet another triple, this time by ART U's Henderson, the Urban Knights couldn't quite get back into the game, falling in their first conference game of the year.

These two teams will be back in action tomorrow, playing two seven-inning games, with the first one starting at 4:00 PM Mountain Time (3:00 PM PT).