IRVINE, Calif. – The first game of the four-game set between Academy of Art and Concordia University Irvine on Friday was full of action, to say the least. After a battle of ups and downs, the Eagles bested the Urban Knights 11-4.
 
ART U opened the scoring in the first, taking a 1-0 advantage as senior center fielder Joseph Marchini double to left center to drive in redshirt junior third baseman Erick Luna. After junior right-hander Josh Lopez shut down CUI in the bottom half of the inning, the Knights went back to work in the second, taking advantage of two Eagles errors to add two more runs to their tally.
 
Heading into the bottom of the second trailing 3-0, the Eagles scored in the first of their eventual six innings of scoring. The damage was minimal at this point however, as Concordia exited the inning having only knocked in one run. In the following frame however, Concordia had runners cross the plate two more times, tying the game at three runs apiece.
 
Looking to regain the lead, junior catcher Zack Trueblood led off the top of the fourth with a double that hugged the left-field line. To keep the momentum going, junior designated hitter Cameron Jones Jr. executed a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher on the first pitch, advancing Trueblood to third. With the infield now playing in, junior shortstop Payton Milone rapped a sharp ground ball to John Bornhop at first base who threw the ball away attempting to catch Trueblood at home. The error gave ART U a 4-3 advantage and their second lead of the game.
 
In the remaining four innings, the Eagles would take the lead for good, scoring seven more times to reach a final score of 11-4. Concordia's 11 runs are their second-highest total of season with their most coming on March 2 when they defeated UH-Hilo 15-1.
 
Both Trueblood (2-for-3, two doubles) and Milone (2-for-4) led the Urban Knights' offense on Friday while Marchini and senior right fielder Cody Edmunds provided the Knights' two runs batted in.
 
"Milone and Trueblood played a great game on both sides of the ball," said head coach Dan McDermott. "They provided a lot of our momentum during the first four innings…the game was actually much closer than it seemed in the final score."
 
ART U used four pitchers altogether with Lopez tossing 5.2 innings while allowing five runs (four earned) and tying a career-high 12 hits allowed (also April 25, 2014 at California Baptist)
 
The Urban Knights continue the series with the Eagles on Saturday, playing a noon/3:00 p.m. twin bill.