Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Oakland, CA -- Shaking off a rain-soaked opener that got sloppier as conditions worsened, the clouds dispersed in the mid-afternoon and the sun energized the Academy of Art University baseball squad, as they rode the right arm of redshirt junior Nick Giotta all the way to victory in the second game against Hawaii Pacific University. The Urban Knights dropped the morning half 11-1 in a game that got away at the end amidst a heavy downpour that saw a 20-minute rain delay, but it was Giotta who backed up a solid outing last week against UH Hilo with a stellar 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, picking up some clutch hits from his offense en route to a 4-1 win in the afternoon game.

Hawaii Pacific jumped on the board amid light sprinkles against ART U starter Nicholas Boyett, getting a single, from Derek Nakasato and a double from PacWest batting leader Codey Ellenwood to take the 1-0 lead. The Urban Knights got one back in their half of the third, going station to station after a leadoff single by Dante Redhead. Daniel Gutierrez singled to left, and Lyle "Kalani" Brackenridge laid down a sacrifice bunt. Joseph Marchini then singled up the middle to drive in Redhead, but Gutierrez was cut down on a close play at the plate and the game stayed tied, 1-1.

As the rain came down harder, the Sea Warriors retook the lead against Alex Kuisel (0-3), who took over for Boyett in the top of the third. They got one in the fourth on an RBI single from Jordan Oshiro and two in the fifth on a double from Ellenwood to make it 4-1. The Knights were still very much in the game, but runners left on base plagued them down the stretch. They left at least one runner on in every inning from the second until the eighth, but the run in the third was the only one that they would score.

Meanwhile, HPU got a run in the seventh inning against Drew Keeler and another in the eighth against Brandon Poulson. Poulson then got another inning in the ninth, but by that time the rain was really coming down, as the ball was noticeably slick. The Sea Warriors sent nine runners to the plate and only managed two hits, but got three walks and a hit batsman before a 20-minute rain delay broke up the ninth inning with the Knights trailing 11-1. ART U eventually batted in the bottom of the inning, but were unable to scratch a run across and the teams retreated from the rain into their dugouts. 


In the second game, Nick Giotta (1-1) took the mound as the sun started to peek through the clouds, working around back-to-back hits to start the game with a double play and a fly ball to right. Academy of Art would score in their half, as Cody Edmunds laid down a perfect bunt for a single. With two outs, Edmunds stole second base, and Daniel Skinner drove a deep double to right-center, scoring the first run of the game and putting ART U up 1-0.

After an 11-pitch battle with Chad Bolibol to start the second ended in a single, Giotta again got the ball on the ground, getting two outs before a walk and a popup ended the threat. The junior worked around another hit and a hit batsman in the third and a walk in the fourth, working towards an outing where he stranded gave up eight base runners but stranded seven on base.

It was Edmunds again who started off a rally in the sixth inning, singling to right center. A few batters later, with two outs, third-baseman Ryan Ramirez singled to center, driving in Edmunds, and Redhead chased starter Doug Christie with a booming double in the left-center gap to score another two runs, putting the Knights up 4-0.

That was all the support Giotta would need offensively, although he did still require a little help on defense to preserve his outing. In the eighth inning, Nakasato singled to lead off, but once again Giotta induced a ground ball, leading to a diving stop from Ramirez at third, starting an around the horn double play that went from Ramirez to Edmunds to Skinner to neutralize the threat. But the next two batters singled as well, ending Giotta's day as head coach Brian Guinn went to the bullpen.

Dylan Rodrigues came in and threw only one pitch to end the inning, and would come out again in the ninth, working around two hits and allowing the first run of the game on an infield single by Nakasato before a grounder to Edmunds ended the game, giving Giotta a much-deserved win and Rodrigues the first save of his career.

The Urban Knights rapped out seven hits in the first game, with seven different Knights getting in the box score, and added another seven in the second game. In the afternoon contest, Edmunds was 2-for-3 in the second spot in the lineup, also drawing a walk, stealing two bases, and scoring two runs. Skinner was 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI, and a walk, and just missed another hit in the eighth with a ball down the left field line that was foul by only a couple inches. Nakasato was 4-for-5 as the Sea Warriors had 10 hits but left 11 runners in total on base. The two teams will face each other in another doubleheader on Wednesday, with the Knights looking to at the very least split their fourth doubleheader in a row.