Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Oakland, CA -- In a doubleheader that had highlights on both ends, the Academy of Art University baseball team swept Laney College roommate Holy Names University with a pair of brilliant performances, allowing only one earned run over 16 innings. Nate Gercken had his first career shutout in a lights-out start in the opener, which the Knights won 2-0, and Chucky Cavestany provided the fireworks in the second game, hitting a walk off single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Urban Knights a 3-2 victory. 

From the beginning of the day, Gercken was on top of his game. After striking out the leadoff batter and inducing a groundout, Ben Gamba doubled down the line and took third when right-fielder Daniel Robertson overran the ball in the corner. But it didn't matter to the big right-hander, who got a soft groundout to first to end the threat. The Knights would then respond by getting that run across, as Kalani Brackenridge singled to start off the game. He stole second and then third, and after a walk and another steal from Joseph Marchini, Daniel Skinner hit a grounder to the pitcher, but both runners broke on the throw and Brackenridge crossed the plate for the first run of the game. 

That would be the only run of the game until the eighth inning even though the Knights would threaten almost every inning, eventually leaving 12 men on base, including four innings leaving at least two runners stranded against Zach Korte (3-4). But the one run held up, as Gercken (2-6) was shutting down the Hawks at every turn. He scattered six hits and only one walk, leaving the bases loaded in the fifth by getting an infield fly and a groundout, and worked around a leadoff single in the sixth to keep it a 1-0 ballgame. 

Academy of Art loaded the bases again in the seventh but had a runner cut down at the plate trying to advance on a wild pitch, but were able to scratch another run across in the eighth inning. Kevin Decker doubled to lead off against Trent Carrier and was lifted for Cody Edmunds to pinch run. After a flyout, Dante Redhead walked, and another pinch runner, Greg Ivory, came in, giving the Knights speed on the base paths. Daniel Gutierrez singled to load the bases, and Robertson came up with a slow ground ball that got another run home to make it 2-0.

The rest was up to Gercken, who was only a couple feet away from his first shutout a year ago before he lost it on the final play of the game. After falling behind 3-0 to Matthew Farias, he came back to make it a full count before Farias grounded out to short. Scott Souza also grounded out to shortstop before Gercken ended the game in style, striking out pinch-hitter Jayse Bannister on three pitches to get the shutout and the win, needing only two hours and 19 minutes and 109 pitches to get it done. 


Nick Giotta took the hill in the second game and was exceptional at wriggling out of trouble in another strong start since entering the rotation. He hit Daniel Catalan, the first batter of the game, but Catalan was erased trying to steal second. After that, a groundout to third and then an exceptional play by Jordan Thomas at shortstop ended the inning and the threat. Giotta worked around a leadoff double in the second inning, getting a pair of flyouts and a groundout, again escaping any damage and keeping it a scoreless game.

ART U broke that scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning, starting when Ryan Ramirez hit double to left center. Thomas followed with a good bunt, and right-fielder Maclane Brady golfed a low pitch deep to center that scored Ramirez and gave the Knights a 1-0 lead. 

Giotta and Holy Names starter Luis Briseño each breezed through the third and the fourth, but Giotta ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Jayse Bannister led off with a double, advancing to third on a single from Matt Kiyota that just ticked off the bottom of the glove of a diving Marchini in center. The next batter hit a ball to Ramirez at third, who had time to get the runner at home but threw low to Chucky Cavestany, allowing the tying run to score. After a hit by pitch, Catalan flied out to left, deep enough to score Kiyota and give the Hawks a 2-1 lead, but Thomas once again at shortstop flashed the leather on a line drive that was smoked up the middle, snagging the hit and using his momentum to double off Nick Wagner at second base for the double play. 

Briseño worked out of a jam of his own in the bottom of the fifth, as the Knights got Brady into scoring position with only one out, but were unable to score him. Nick Boyett came in out of the bullpen and pitched a scoreless sixth, bringing up the Knights in the bottom of the inning with a chance to equalize. And that they did, as Cavestany led off with a walk to chase Briseño from the game. Jesse Savage came in and struck out Daniel Skinner, but Cavestany stole second, setting up Ramirez who hit his second double of the day, a booming shot that hit more than halfway up the wall in left center and tied the game at 2-2.

But with one inning to play, the Hawks weren't going to let it go easily. Rising to the occasion, neither were the Knights. After Boyett gave up a single, a sacrifice bunt, and a walk, Dylan Rodrigues came in from the pen to hold the runners. Catalan had a swinging bunt that froze all the runners but also froze the Knights fielders, as Skinner took the ball but had no play anywhere on the diamond, loading the bases. But on an 0-1 count, the defense came up big, as Anthony Lazalde hit a scalding grounder that Brackenridge flagged down, stepping on second and throwing to first for the double play. 

The Knights came up in the bottom of the seventh against Conner McCoy, who came into the game for the Hawks. He immediately hit Brady with a pitch, who was then sacrificed over to second by Greg Ivory. Brackenridge was walked intentionally, and then Marchini walked unintentionally to load the bases, bringing Cavestany to the plate. After a coaching visit to the mound, Cavestany wasted no time, jumping on the first pitch and driving a ground ball past the drawn in infield to give the Knights their second walk-off win of the year. 

Cavestany's two hits raised his average to a team-high .354, while Ramirez reached base all three times at bat with two doubles and a walk. Rodrigues (1-2) picked up the first win of his collegiate career, while McCoy (1-4) took the loss for Holy Names. 

Academy of Art continues a long weekend with a single nine-inning non-conference contest at CCAA opponent Sonoma State tomorrow before returning home for the end of their grueling six-game, four-day stretch with a single game against independent St. Katherine College on Monday.