OAKLAND, Calif. – Though Academy of Art baseball saw junior outfielder Charles Morgan crush his fifth home run of the season, the ART U offense struggled to keep up with nationally-ranked No. 23 Concordia in the final pair of contests in a four-game set, as CUI swept a doubleheader by finals of 21-4 and 9-2 (seven innings). 

"This was a tough weekend for the Urban Knights," said ART U Head Coach Dan McDermott. "Our roster was pretty light with injuries to four key players, we look forward to getting them back during the next few weeks. On one hand, it was great to beat a ranked team, but on the other we felt we were in position to win game two also. We are disappointed that we let that opportunity slip away."

On the day the Urban Knights (5-10, 1-3 PacWest) combined for six runs on 10 hits, while the tough Eagles (9-4-1, 3-1 PacWest) lineup would not be contained with a total of 30 hits on the day. The blast from Morgan in game one was his second of the series and fifth overall, which is already tied for third-most in ART U history along with Evan Ray (2018), as he moves past the four home runs most recently done by current teammate senior Ty Conrad and recent alum Noah Daubin in 2021.

ART U graduate student outfielder Travis Turney was the only Knight to record a hit in both games, going 2-for-6 with two runs scored and a triple, extending his current hitting streak to a team-best 12 games. Meanwhile, senior first baseman Vincent Lontz snatched the only multi-hit game by coming up with a pair of knocks and an RBI in game two, though neither were for extra bases. Right-handed freshman Cole Shafer tossed a solid relief appearance by not allowing a hit and striking out three in 2.1 innings of work.

"Today, Concordia made some outstanding offensive adjustments and put up 30 runs to our six," McDermott said. "Not much you can say about that, but we will spend the week getting better as we prepare for our upcoming series against Biola."

GAME ONE – CUI 21, ART U 4
Concordia would threaten with a man in scoring position to begin the game, but ART U right-handed freshman Joseph Anderson would induce a groundball double play to escape the jam. After a 1-2-3 inning with the Knights at the plate, the Concordia bats started the scoring in a big way with a single and homer to start the away half of the second. It would be the first of five innings where CUI scored multiple runs, also doing so in the third, fifth and sixth innings before last doing so in the ninth. 

In the middle innings Academy of Art was able to plate their four runs, first doing so on an RBI double in the fourth from redshirt senior shortstop Dominic Ruggiero after he traded places with graduate student catcher Ryan Gamboa, who doubled earlier in the frame. That would set the tone for Morgan's two-run dinger on the first pitch he saw in the fifth that also drove in junior catcher Robbie Brue after Brue had doubled with two outs. Turney would score ART U's final run, tripling to lead off the sixth and ultimately scoring on an RBI groundout from Ruggiero. 

The CUI offense was unrelenting, as they would end game one with a total of five homers, two of which came from the bat of Richard Castro. All but four runs would be earned, putting up 21 runs on 20 hits. Earning the win was starter Mason Metcalfe, his second of the season, allowing four earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts. 

GAME TWO – CUI 9, ART U 2 (7)
Scoring again started in the second for Concordia, this time with a four-spot after a balk and a single brought home a run, finally capped off by a two-run home run off the right field foul pole. Another pair of crooked numbers would come in the fourth and fifth, using a pair of RBI doubles along with a fielder's choice to make the game 9-0. 

Academy of Art's offense waited until the seventh inning to score its first run, putting up a pair of runs in the home half of the frame on an RBI single from Lontz followed by an RBI double from junior second baseman Adam Inouye, the only extra-base hit for the Knights in the series finale. Threatening with the bases loaded, CUI would escape the trouble after recording a strikeout to end the game.

Only three Urban Knights would record hits, with Lontz being tops among them thanks to his two-hit effort, while Inouye chipped in the double. Taking the loss was sophomore righty Dallen Turner, while Matthew Des Martes would earn the winning decision for the Eagles. 

It will be a quick turnaround for the Urban Knights, as they return to the diamond next weekend when they host Biola for a four-game series beginning on Mar. 4 at 11 a.m.