OAKLAND, Calif. – In a game where both sides combined for 27 hits, the Urban Knights were unable to string together enough with runners in scoring position. The Menlo College Oaks (25-6 and No. 7 in NAIA) took advantage of ART U's 10 runners left on base, defeating the Knights 11-3.
 
Making his third start and second at home this season, sophomore right-hander Mason Verhees looked dominant in his first inning of work. The San Diego native breezed through the first four batters in the inning without allowing a hit and surrendered a walk with two outs. The industrial design major also came out strong to begin the second inning, getting two quick outs by striking out the first two batters swinging. Then, one strike away from exiting the frame unscathed, a soft groundball ricocheted off of Verhees and allowed the runner to reach base. The Oaks proceeded to send five more batters to the plate and with the bases loaded, the Knights' six-foot six righty could not find the strike zone, walking two runners home. Menlo continued to pour on the offense in Tuesday's affair, adding runs in six separate innings to score 11 runs in total.
 
Academy of Art was able to respond in the third inning with three runs of their own. The Urban Knights started off the frame with three-consecutive base hits which allowed sophomore infielder Robert "Gio" Villanueva to score. After that first run, ART U managed to load the bases with no outs before senior infielder Erick Luna grounded into the team's first of four double plays on the day. Although junior outfielder Kyle McGraw managed to cross the plate on the play, the Knights' rally was cut short and they were only able to score once more in the frame.
 
After the third inning, Menlo's offense took over and scored in every inning except for the fifth and eighth.
 
Despite the loss, a few ART U players managed to put together a strong showing at the plate. Villanueva went 3-for-4 with one run scored and hit a double in his first at-bat down the left-field line. Luna had a pair of hits in his four at-bats and got on base three times with a walk in the ninth. Junior outfielder Evan Ray also managed to put together a pair of hits although in a very unique fashion: the Rodeo, Calif. native only faced a total of four pitches on Tuesday, but his aggressiveness paid off as he reached base twice and collected the Urban Knights' only run batted in. In total, the Knights tallied five doubles which is tied for the second-highest, single-game mark in program history. Senior left-hander Jacob Green was the only pitcher to not allow a run or a hit on ART U's staff. Green threw 1.2 perfect innings, facing just four batters and struck out a batter swinging in the top of the eighth. The Simi Valley, Calif. native lowered his season-earned run average to 1.85 and has only allowed one run in his last 10.1 innings of work. 
 
Now 12-18 overall (8-8 PacWest), Academy of Art will return their focus to conference-play as they welcome in No. 15-ranked Azusa Pacific on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. The series will be held at University of San Francisco's Benedetti Diamond.