RIVERSIDE, Calif. – After dropping the first two games of the series to California Baptist, the Urban Knights headed into games three and four seeking revenge against the Lancers.
 
Game One: ART U 0, CBU 8
 
Junior Alexander Kuisel took to the hill in game one of Saturday's double header, making his 10th start of the season. The left hander had a nearly perfect first two innings, striking out the first batter he faced and allowing just one hit.
 
His groove was brought to a halt in the third however, as the leadoff batter advanced to third when Kuisel threw the ball away attempting to catch the runner. The Lancers would capitalize off of the opportunity and plate five runs altogether in the inning.
 
Academy of Art also saw an opportunity to score in the third when senior right fielder Cody Edmunds was the first Knight to reach scoring position. Edmunds would not progress however as he was caught having leaked a little too far off of second and was picked off to end the inning.  ART U would see runners reach scoring position four more times in the ballgame, but the Lancers would not allow any to advance past second.
 
CBU added three more runs to their total with one in the sixth and two in the seventh to reach the final score.
 
Senior third baseman Tyler Strawn picked up were he left off from yesterday's 7-for-9 performance, adding two more hits to his tally. Overall, the San Leandro native batted .588 (10-for-17) against the PacWest's top pitching staff and saw his batting average rise from .278 to a team-leading .320.
 
"Strawn provided a strong message as virtually every one of his plate appearances was an intense battle," said head coach Dan McDermott.
 
Junior shortstop Payton Milone also had a solid day at the plate, going 3-for-3 to give him a total of four hits in the series' first three games.
 
Game Two: ART U 2, CBU 11
 
The Lancers put together a big offensive performance in game two, scoring in every inning and reaching double-digit runs for the third time in the four-game set.
 
Trailing by five runs in the fourth, the Urban Knights were able to put their first run on the board by attempting a double steal of second and home. Sophomore second baseman Michael Maleski led off the inning with a single to center field and advanced to third when junior center fielder Cameron Jones reached on a fielding error. With runners at the corners, Jones took off for second. When the ball left the catcher's hand, Maleski sprinted to the plate in an attempt to steal home. CBU's Jake Gallaway threw it back to the plate to catch Maleski, but his throw was errant, making it a 5-1 ballgame.
 
California Baptist would respond with two runs in their half of the inning and four more combined in the fifth and sixth frames.
 
Academy of Art would score once more in the sixth when runners reached the corners with no outs: freshman Takis Thayer sent the first pitch he saw into right field for a sacrifice fly which drove in senior catcher Zack Trueblood from third and ended ART U's scoring opportunities for the afternoon.
 
Like Milone in game one, Maleski put together a 3-for-3 effort in the second contest. Strawn and Milone also both notched hits in the game, going 1-for-4 and 1-for-3 respectively.
 
"It was a tough series with a top-quality opponent," said McDermott. "We look forward to the next week and a half to heal up our injuries and work on improving our game."
 
The Urban Knights will have a 13-day intercession before returning to Southern California to face off with the Point Loma Sea Lions.