OAKLAND, Calif. – Opening a series with Dixie State, Academy of Art faced down a 13-game losing streak against Trailblazers: the Urban Knights combined a strong pitching effort from senior right-hander Luke Lacy and a big offensive-effort from senior outfielder Evan Ray to take down DSU for the first time since 2014.
 
Lacy set the tone early, allowing just three hits through the first six innings which included a stretch of three perfect frames from the third through the sixth. It was Ray who put ART U on the board first, sending the second pitch he saw in the fourth inning over the left field wall. The homer was so large in fact, that it cleared the upper netting which stretches nearly 20 feet above the fence. Ray's team-leading fourth big fly of the season broke the 0-0 deadlock and gave the Urban Knights a 1-0 lead. However, ART U was not quite finished as junior third baseman Robert "Gio" Villanueva later delivered a two-out single to center, scoring senior outfielder Izac Bauer and giving the Knights 2-0 cushion.
 
After Lacy quickly disposed of the Trailblazers with a shut-down inning in the top of the fifth, Academy of Art went back to work in the bottom of the frame. This time it was senior outfielder Jackson Murphy who delivered the big hit, scoring junior Taj Dawson to make it a 2-0 ballgame.
 
Lacy looked to continue the shutout moving through the sixth inning without a hitch, but the Trailblazers took advantage of a balk and a wild pitch in the seventh, scoring their first two runs of the game and pulling within one run of the Urban Knights (3-2). ART U responded with another run of their own in the bottom of the innings thanks to another big hit from Ray: the Rodeo, Calif. native hit a two-out single through the left side of the infield, driving in junior infielder Elijah Smith to make it a 4-2 ballgame. The RBI later proved to be the game-winner as a Dixie State sacrifice fly made it a 4-3 game in the eighth.
 
Junior righty CJ Romero then entered the game in the top of the ninth and sealed the deal with a pair of strikeouts and a popup, earning the team's first save the season.
 
Now, with an overall record of 8-8, and a PacWest mark of 4-5, the Urban Knights will return to Laney College on Sunday where they will play a doubleheader against DSU starting at 1:00 p.m.