Box Score #1
Box Score #2
Phoenix, AZ --- A historic moment came for the Academy of Art University baseball team (1-13, 1-5 PacWest) Friday afternoon when the Urban Knights won their first game since the program began; a 5-4 triumph over Grand Canyon (15-12, 8-6 PacWest). Sophomore right-hander Alex Rosenthal (1-4) goes down in the record books as the first winning pitcher for AAU and freshman righty Drew Sullivan-Hames earned the first save. In the opening game of the doubleheader, the Knights got early offense, but ultimately fell 14-5 to GCU at Brazell Stadium.
“I'm happy for the kids,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “They've been battling really hard throughout the year and last year. To get that first victory takes that weight off their shoulders. Now they can go out and play baseball and do what they're capable of doing. They're pretty excited.”
Game one saw AAU get on the board in the first inning with a three-run rally sparked by a two-out walk to junior right-handed pitcher Darnell Quinney and a single by junior catcher Chris Vargas. With two on and two out, senior right fielder Mike Gutierrez stepped in and brought Quinney home on his RBI double. Freshman first baseman Andy Caniezo followed with a big two-run single and the Knights led 3-0.
“The first game, we came out swinging the bats,” Coach Guinn said. “We've been swinging the bat well lately and it just continued. We had some mental mistakes towards the end, but the guys are still playing hard. They are starting to come together and believe in themselves. The kids needed some confidence and they can compete with anybody. We're younger, but we're going to get out there and compete every game.”
Grand Canyon responded with three runs of its own in the first inning, but Academy of Art was not finished. In the top of the second, sophomore centerfielder Johnathan Robbins walked and junior left fielder Ryan Worley reached on an error to set up another scoring opportunity for the Knights. Quinney and Vargas cashed in with one RBI apiece resulting in a 5-3 advantage for the visitors. GCU came back with five runs over the next two innings to take its first lead of the day and the Antelopes held on for the 14-5 win.
Quinney (0-4) went 2.1 innings on the mound as a starter, allowing eight runs (six earned) on five hits with three strikeouts. Freshman righty Jeff Smith was used to finish off the game with 3.1 innings pitched and six runs allowed.
The Urban Knights forced three walks in the first inning of game two, but an unusual pickoff play at third base ended the inning with the bases loaded. Academy of Art still got on the board first after sophomore catcher Brandon Kistler led off the second inning with a double and soon scored on a RBI double by sophomore first baseman Jared DePatto. GCU answered back with two in the second only to lose the lead when AAU pushed three across in the fourth.
“Brandon stepped in big time after we had been using him mostly as a pitcher,” Coach Guinn said. “He came to me wanting to catch and he did a wonderful job behind the plate. Brandon contributed offensively and defensively quite a bit today. He's one of those guys from last year, so he is definitely on cloud nine right now.”
Sophomore second baseman Kallen Fletcher had the clutch RBI single in a pinch hit at bat to start the rally followed by an RBI double by Robbins that was nearly a home run over the centerfield fence. Grand Canyon threatened with a run in the fifth, but the Knights added what would be the winning run on another RBI single by Fletcher. A solo homer by the 'Lopes in the sixth was all they would get as Academy of Art held on for its first victory in both program history and in the Pacific West Conference.
Academy of Art's game two starter was Rosenthal who pitched a season-high 5.0 innings with four strikeouts before freshman righty Chris Holmes was brought in as a reliever. Holmes did allow one run in his one inning of work, but after the Knights scored in the sixth, he was off the hook. For the final inning, Sullivan-Hames pitched a perfect seventh, facing only three batters.
“Alex threw the ball really well,” Coach Guinn said. “He got outs when he needed to and hit his spots when he needed to as well. And Drew has done a wonderful job his last few outings so we brought him in for the save situation. His pitches worked for him and that was tremendous. We just finally got the ball rolling in our favor.”
With half of the four-game series now complete, Academy of Art was led by Caniezo and Fletcher who combined to go 3-for-7 with four runs batted in and one run scored in the doubleheader. Kistler was 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Vargas went 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Freshman second baseman Kenny Rollins, Jr. wrapped up the day 3-for-4.
Grand Canyon had a strong performance from third baseman Jay Green. He was 2-for-5 and had the only home run of the day to go with two runs and three RBI. Left fielder Trevor Santor supported Green with four runs and a 3-for-5 outing. In the first game, Colin Courtland (3-3) earned the victory on the mound with five runs allowed over 6.0 innings pitched and three strikeouts. Game two's loss was charged to starter Danny Skelly (3-2) who allowed four earned runs on five hits over 3.2 innings of work.
Academy of Art and Grand Canyon continue their series tomorrow with another doubleheader that begins at 1:00 PM MST (12:00 PM PST). The games can be heard on a live broadcast at mms://208.67.186.169/GrandCanyon (copy and paste link into your browser).
