Game #5 & #6
ART U Urban Knights (3-1, 3-1 PacWest) at Holy Names Hawks (2-0, 0-0 PacWest)
Friday, Mar. 12, 2021 at 2 & 5 p.m.
Alameda, Calif. – College of Alameda
Live Stats and Video
Game #7 & #8
ART U Urban Knights (3-1, 3-1 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (2-0, 0-0 PacWest)
Saturday, Mar. 13, 2021 at 1 & 4 p.m.
Alameda, Calif. – College of Alameda
Live Stats and Video
NORCAL RIVALRY RENEWED
After winning the first series of the year against Fresno Pacific, Academy of Art baseball looks to continue their hot momentum as they face Holy Names in a four-game PacWest Conference series, with each team hosting a pair of games.
FIRST PITCH
The Hawks will host the first doubleheader on Friday with first pitch times of 2 and 5 p.m., while the series concludes with the Urban Knights as the host on Saturday at 1 and 4 p.m. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (
Apple App Store,
Google Play Store) and on
Twitter &
Instagram as well as "Like" the
Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.
KNIGHT WATCH
It was an incredible start to the season for the Urban Knights,
sweeping the season-opening doubleheader against the Sunbirds by scoring 21 total runs on 33 hits. Graduate student pitcher
Matthew Sanchez got the start in game one,
tossing a gem to earn the win over 8.0 innings with four strikeouts while scattering three hits and three strikeouts as ART U
steamrolled to a 12-0 shutout. Four different Urban Knights recorded three hits apiece, led by graduate student outfielder
Andrew Shebloski going 3-for-6 with two runs scored and a solo homer, while sophomore outfielder
Hayato Niki and sophomore infielder
Adam Inouye each drove in two runs. In game two, senior right hander
Jayson Summers picked up his first victory of the year after allowing three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings, striking out four in the process. Junior outfielder
Ty Conrad got the scoring started with a solo big fly on a 1-1 count in the top of the first inning, and the Knights continued to pile on until they built a 7-0 lead. It was then that FPU would score their first runs of the series, but ART U would respond every time the Sunbirds would score, going on to record the 9-3 victory. Inouye was a perfect 4-4 with three runs scored in the second of the twin bill, while graduate student second baseman
Justin Summers was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Fresno Pacific got the better of ART U in game three, building a comfortable lead before the Knights could respond,
going on to a 14-7 victory. The ART U bats woke up at the end of the game, as they scored all seven runs over the final three innings, but just couldn't the Sunbirds off the scoreboard in a game where both teams recorded double-digit hits. Collecting a pair of doubles each was graduate student catcher
Ryan Gamboa and junior first baseman
Vincent Lontz, as the two-baggers also led to two RBI apiece. The final laugh would belong to ART U, as they would tie the game on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh before walking off winners on Shebloski's RBI single down the left-field line
for the 3-2 victory in eight innings (originally scheduled for seven). Junior right-hander
Cannon Secrist would not factor into the decision despite allowing two unearned runs with eight strikeouts while allowing six hits and two walks over 7.0 innings pitched. The win would go to right-handed junior
Ryan Skillman in a relief appearance, pitching a perfect eighth inning with three consecutive ground outs on 16 pitches.
For his efforts Sanchez would be named the
PacWest Pitcher of the Week, as well as the
NCBWA DII West Region PItcher of the Week, marking the first time an Urban Knight has received the award. He now leads the PacWest in innings pitched without an earned run allowed this season. Inouye would also earn recognition, as he would be named the PacWest Player of the Week for the first time in his career after going 7-for-10 in the first doubleheader. As it stands currently, Lontz and Niki
lead all Urban Knights with a .438 batting average, with each driving in four RBI. While Sanchez, Secrist and Skillman are tied for the team lead in ERA, Secrist paces with eight total strikeouts.
HIGH AND TIGHT TO THE HAWKS
Holy Names has played just two non-conference games this season against Simpson, but scored a total of 25 runs in the doubleheader, posting totals of 14-0 in game one followed by 11-0 in game two. Infielder Carlos Cosio leads the way by going 4-for-7 in the pair of games, driving in five RBI along with Jesus Hernandez (2-for-5, HR). From the hill, Ricardo Hernandez Jr. and Sebastian Olivo are each 1-0, with Hernandez Jr. recording 10 strikeouts and scattering one hit and two walks in 6.0 innings. ART U leads the all-time series matchup between the two teams, 23-17.
EXTRA-INNINGS VICTORY EARNS KNIGHTS DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT
Needing clutch at-bats in the closing innings of game two of Monday's Pacific West Conference doubleheader, Academy of Art baseball was able to force extra baseball with a run in the bottom of the seventh before walking off winners in the eighth inning of game two by a final of 3-2 over Fresno Pacific. While it was just a split of the day's doubleheader, it earned ART U the series win by taking three of four games to open the 2020-21 season.
