OAKLAND, Calif. – On a day that projected inclement weather, Academy of Art baseball (6-10, 2-1 PacWest), brought the thunder. The Urban Knights split the double header with FPU (6-11, 1-2 Pac West) and now control the four-game series 2-1.
 
Game One: Art U 3, FPU 2
 
Junior left-hander Alexander Kuisel came right out of the gate looking sharp in his sixth start of the season, not allowing a hit until the third inning when the Sunbirds took a 1-0 lead.
 
The Urban Knights would answer back with a run of their own in the fifth, but the tie did not last long as FPU regained the lead with a run in the sixth.
 
When the ninth inning rolled around, ART U was determined to make a comeback. The Urban Knights sent six runners to the plate and all of them reached. After senior left fielder Greg Ivory delivered freshman pinch runner Taj Dawson with a single to left field, junior Payton Milone provided the game-winner. The shortstop tapped a single up the middle into no man's land, forcing the Sunbirds' second basemen McKay France to make a dive for it, but he could not make the play.
 
The victory was the third in a row for the Urban Knights and gave ART U a 2-0 advantage in the series. Senior center fielder Joseph Marchini led the way for ART U, going 3-for-4 at the plate and also nabbed a runner attempting to score in the sixth inning: the Hercules native threw a seed from center field to senior catcher Zack Trueblood.
 
Kuisel's start was a dominant one, tossing 6.0 innings and only allowing two earned runs on five hits, four walks, and two strikeouts. Junior right-hander Josh Lopez earned his third win of the season (a team-high), pitching 3.0 innings on 23 pitches and only surrendered one hit.

 
Game Two: FPU 9, ART U 7 (9 IN)
 
The Sunbirds got to work quickly in game two, scoring three in the first inning, courtesy of Nick Pate's three-run, home run to left field. FPU's 3-0 lead held up until the fifth when ART U came roaring back into contention with six runs to take a 7-3 lead.
 
Fresno Pacific would force the Urban Knights to squander their lead in the seventh as they scored four runs to come all the way back to tie things at 7 runs apiece. Academy of Art twice found themselves one strike away from victory during the inning, but the team could not prevail.
 
The Sunbirds would complete the comeback in the ninth inning, scoring two runs to pull ahead by the final score of 9-7.
 
Marchini again turned in an impressive game in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 including a triple and a game-tying, two-run double in the fifth. Trueblood followed up with an equally impressive three-run double past the diving first baseman to give the Urban Knights their first lead of the contest.
 
Freshman right-hander Daniel Farfan started the game for ART U and nearly notched his first-career complete game. The Soledad native ended up surrendering seven runs (six earned) on three hits, four walks, and eight strikeouts. Farfan entered the seventh having only allowed one hit and three runs.
 
The finale of the series between Academy of Art and Fresno Pacific will be played on Saturday, March 5 at 4:00 p.m.