IRVINE, Calif. – Academy of Art (7-17, 2-8 PacWest) fell twice in Saturday's double header with the Eagles (15-16, 11-8 PacWest), taking part in two contrasting types of contests.
 
GAME ONE: CUI 11, ART U 4
 
For the second game in as many days, the Urban Knights squandered an early lead and conceded most of their runs in the ladder-half of the ballgame.
 
In the first inning, redshirt junior third baseman Erick Luna and senior center fielder Joseph Marchini set the table for senior first baseman Tyler Strawn. The second-year transfer from East Carolina University laced a single into right field over the second baseman's head to drive in Luna and give the Urban Knights a 1-0 lead.
 
The advantage did not last for long however, as junior right hander Brett Bovee allowed two runs in the bottom of the inning, giving Concordia a lead which they would not relinquish.
 
Bovee settled down through the next three innings, allowing just one base hit. In the fifth, the Las Vegas native would surrender another run as the Eagles' Luke Hussung drove one over the left-center field wall for a solo home run. Bovee would record just two more outs however, allowing four runs in the sixth before departing the game.
 
CUI would score four more the following inning to bring their total to 11 runs. Despite the Knights scoring three runs in the final two innings, ART U could not overcome the deficit.
 
GAME TWO:  CUI 2, ART U 1 (11 innings)
 
Game two was in stark contrast to the first contest. The Urban Knights took an early advantage yet again, plating a run in the second inning when junior Payton Milone singled through the left side to drive in junior right fielder Cameron Jones Jr.
 
Concordia returned the favor in the fourth when John Bornhop grounded a single up the middle to knock in Tino Leite. Little did either side know, but this would be the final score from either side for the next seven innings.
 
Academy of Art's missing runs were not due to a lack of offense however. ART U matched their season high with 13 hits and placed runners in scoring position in four out of the final five innings of the ballgame. One of these innings includes the tenth when the Urban Knights managed to load the bases with no outs. Junior catcher Zack Trueblood was next to bat, but hit a sharp ground ball to the shortstop who was drawn-in and threw home to catch Marchini on the force play. Jones immediately followed, grounding into a double play to end the inning.
 
The following half-inning, the Eagles' Kellen Richards came through in a pinch-hit performance, doubling down the left-field line. Freshman right hander Mason Verhees, who had been pitching since the 10th, intentionally walked the following batter to set up a double play situation with no outs. The following batter was Luke Hussung who laid down a sacrifice bunt which was hit sharply back to Verhees. The right hander turned to throw out the runner attempting to advance to third, but missed his mark, throwing the ball away, and allowing the winning run to cross the plate.
 
The Urban Knights would not have reached extra innings in the first place had it not been for the outstanding performance by freshman right hander Daniel Farfan. In a scheduled seven-inning game, the Soledad, Calif. native put in a career-high nine innings of work. His line included one run on five hits, five walks, and four strikeouts.
 
ART U also had five batters who had two or more base hits in the contest including Trueblood (3-for-5) and Milone (2-for-5) who owned the Knights' sole run batted in. Strawn was 2-for-5 in the contest which put a cap on a big day for the senior who also went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the first game of the double header.
 
Academy of Art will look to salvage the final game of the series with one more matchup against Concordia on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.