RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Urban Knights entered a four-game set with the California Baptist Lancers on Friday, looking to carry over their momentum from Tuesday's 5-0 victory over Hawaii Pacific.
 
Game One: ART U 4, CBU 17
 
Academy of Art quickly set the pace for game one, collecting three hits in the first inning: senior left fielder Greg Ivory led off the game with a single up the middle. Although he was called out for interference on the next play, his place was quickly taken by redshirt junior second baseman Erick Luna who doubled to right field. Now with two outs, senior third baseman Tyler Strawn laced a single up the middle two pitches later to drive Luna in from second.
 
ART U's lead would not last long however as the Lancers quickly responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
 
The game would remain tied until the third and fourth innings when CBU tacked on seven more runs. After the Lancers added another in the sixth, the Urban Knights were able to respond in the seventh. Strawn cashed in for the second time in the game, this time singling to right field which allowed Maleski to cross the plate.
 
California Baptist continued to pour on the runs however, posting four more in both the seventh and eighth frames.
 
ART U also refused to back down, posting a run of their own in the eighth when sophomore infielder Michael Maleski delivered freshman catcher Takis Thayer with a single up the middle.
 
Despite only scoring four runs, the Urban Knights collected a season-high 14 hits. One the major contributors to this total was Strawn who when 4-for-5 at the plate with two runs batted in. Four other players collected two hits including Ivory, Luna, Thayer, and Maleski.
 
Game Two: ART U 0, CBU 10
 
Junior right hander Cody Ball made his first start of the season for ART U in game two. The Fairfield, Calif. native tossed 6.1 innings and allowed five runs on five hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, the Urban Knights saw runners reach in every inning except for the eighth, but could not bring one across home plate. Strawn continued his hot day however, tallying three more hits in game two to complete a 7-for-9, two RBI day at the plate. Ivory also performed well in both contests, adding two more hits in game two for a total of fours hits on the day.
 
The final two games between Academy of Art and California Baptist will take place on Saturday with double header times of noon and 3:00 p.m.