Box Score

Turlock, CA – Academy of Art University's four-game series against Cal State Stanislaus wrapped up with an 8-4 loss to CSUS on Sunday afternoon at Warrior Baseball Field. With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, senior infielder Darnell Quinney came through with a resounding double to bring home three Urban Knights and help ART U close in on the Warriors' lead at that time. He finished the day 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.

“I thought we competed well in this series,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “We're just going to get better and better. Today the guys came out with a lot of heart and battled to the end of the game.”

Stanislaus managed to score first with a run in the second inning, but lefty reliever Zach Mexicano came in to shut down the Warriors' opportunity, striking out the final batter. In the third inning, CSUS added five more runs to take a 6-0 lead though Academy of Art would fight back for a run in the fourth. Sophomore infielder Stefen Henderson doubled to left (his third extra-base hit of 2011) after junior catcher Kenny Rollins, Jr. had walked and the Knights then scored one on a wild pitch.

Consecutive walks to sophomore Chris Holmes, senior outfielder Johnathan Robbins, and junior infielder Zach Babitt led off the ART U fifth to set the table for Quinney. Following the Knights' patient at-bats, Quinney delivered a bases-clearing double to left center, giving Academy of Art three runs on just one swing of the bat. Now a very close 6-4 game, the pressure was on both teams to perform.

“That was the clutch hit we were looking for,” Coach Guinn said. “He cleared the bases with the double and came through for us today. If we can have more clutch hitting like that, we'll be fine.”

CSUS followed the ART U rally with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Highlighting ART U's late-game pitching efforts, however, was freshman righty Wade Broadstreet who came in to get six quick outs in a clean seventh and eighth innings. He had three strikeouts in that span. The Warrior lead held on through the afternoon's conclusion as CSUS took an 8-4 victory.

“Wade came up to me and wanted to pitch,” Coach Guinn said. “And he came out and threw strikes and did a great job.”

A major offensive contributor in this series, Quinney finished game four by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Henderson was 2-for-4 with the aforementioned double. The top of the Knights' lineup, Robbins and Babitt, combined to go 2-for-6 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Babitt also had the first triple of his ART U career. The Academy of Art starter for this series finale was freshman lefty Samm McAlear (0-1) who took the loss after pitching 1.1 innings with one earned run allowed on three hits with one strikeout. Academy of Art is now 0-6 in its 2011 campaign.

Outfielder John Canepa helped Cal State Stanislaus offensively Sunday afternoon by going 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Leonard Giammanco earned the win as the Warriors' starter after lasting 3.0 innings with no runs allowed on three hits with two strikeouts. The Warriors are 6-0 on the year.

Academy of Art University Baseball opens up a three-game series against Fresno Pacific University (CA) next weekend at FPU Diamond. The teams are scheduled to play a single contest at 5:00 PM on Friday, Feb. 18 then finish with a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 AM.