Box Score
Photo Gallery (images by Meg Williams)

Oakland, CA -- The Academy of Art baseball team got some much needed offense on Friday afternoon, pounding out ten hits against California Baptist pitching, but the Urban Knights couldn't keep the Lancers off the bases either, falling to CBU 12-4 in the second game of the four game series. Dante Redhead, James Singzon, and Joey Marchini each had a pair of hits for the Urban Knights.

"Well it would have been nice to get a win, but it's important to note that we did start swinging the bats," said head coach Brian Guinn. "Our guys put the ball in play, they started using the other side of the field, and they got some runs across, which is something that we definitely needed to do. Now they just need to get used to doing that every time out."

The Knights turned to Aaron Garabedian (0-4), who immediately was put in trouble in the first inning. After an error by Wade Broadstreet at first base, Zach Esquerra, who has plagued the Knights since joining the league last year, laced a double into the right-center field gap. He later scored on a groundout, and the Lancers had a 2-0 lead. Zach's brother Luke Esquerra added another run on a sacrifice fly in the second, and then Zach got a triple to start the scoring in a four-run third inning and CBU went up 7-0 after the first four frames.

In the fifth inning, Nick Giotta's second inning of work, extra base hits undid Academy of Art again, as Ryan Cathers tripled in a run, which was followed by a home run by catcher Johnathan Davis. Myles Babitt took the hill for Giotta, but the Lancers got two more, one on a double by Matt Marnati and another on a sacrifice fly by Zach Esquerra, his third RBI of the day.

The Urban Knights, who ended the game with 10 hits, didn't get their first one until the bottom half of the fifth, when they also scored their first runs of the game. Stefen Henderson led off the inning with a booming double, and went to third on a wild pitch. Redhead singled to right field, and after a single by Singzon, Marchini hit a double over the right-fielder's head, scoring Redhead and making it a 12-2 game. All four of the hits in the fifth were to right field, as the Knights used an inside out approach to score their first runs.

ART U turned to the middle of the field for their second rally, this time in the seventh inning. Jeremy Williams sent one right back through the box to lead off, and Redhead then blasted one over the center fielder's head to put runners on second and third. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Marchini drove in his second run on a ground ball to shortstop to make it 12-4.

Babitt and Fink combined to hold the Lancers off the board in the last four innings of the game, and the Knights didn't give up easy, loading the bases against Josh Ferrell in the bottom of the ninth. Singzon, Marchini, and Broadstreet hit consecutive singles to clog the base paths with one out, but a double play by Tino Leite ended the threat and the game for the Urban Knights.

The two teams will play a doubleheader tomorrow to end the series, with the first game starting at 11:00AM. Both games will be seven innings.