SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – After mustering just three hits in game one of the series at Biola, Academy of Art bounced back in a big way on Saturday, exploding for a season-high, 15 hits to propel them to a 10-7 victory over the Eagles. Senior outfielder Jackson Murphy was the Urban Knights' primary offensive contributor as he enjoyed the best day of his career, tying the single-game program record in both hits (four) and runs batted in (five).
 
The action got started in the first inning when ART U's first three batters all reached including a 3-run home run from Murphy on the first pitch of the at-bat. The Urban Knights' offense was relentless from that point forward as they went on a streak of five innings where they collected at least one run. In the second, it was Murphy who struck once again, this time with a 2-out single through the left side to drive in junior infielder Elijah Smith. In the third inning, it was senior infielder Brennan Mauchline's turn to drive in a run, doing so with a single to right-center. ART U added three more over the next two innings thanks to RBI from junior infielder Donnie Gardiner, senior catcher Marciano Reichel and, you guessed it, Murphy once again.
 
All the while, junior right-hander Ben Kaser was nearly perfect through the first five innings in his seventh start of the season. The Van Nuys, Calif. native had a no-hitter going through 4.2 innings and did not surrender a run until the seventh. When it was all said and done, Kaser tossed a total of 7.0 innings pitched while allowing two earned runs on just five hits with five strikeouts and one walk.  
 
Senior infielder Taylor Martin joined the offensive parade in the top of the seventh when, with two outs, he launched his career-first home run over the left-center field wall. At that point, the Urban Knights held a 10-0 lead.
 
The Eagles broke through for their first runs of the game in the seventh and added two more in the eighth off of a 2-run home run from Ryan Gallegos. The Eagles made things interesting in the ninth, scoring three more runs off of five hits to bring Gallegos to the plate, representing the tying run. Despite hitting a home run in the eighth, he was unable to replicate it in the ninth, as he popped out to Smith at second to end the game with ART U in front, 10-7.
 
Beyond Murphy's impressive offensive performance, there were multiple other Urban Knights who delivered big contributions on Saturday afternoon: Smith went 3-for-4 on the day with four runs scored, two doubles and a walk, and Martin (two RBI), Reichel (one RBI), and Mauchline (one RBI) each collected a pair of hits. ART U's 15 hits are the most since April 22, 2017 when the Urban Knights defeated Fresno Pacific 8-6 in 10 innings with 18 base knocks.
 
Academy of Art now owns an overall record of 13-14 and an 8-10 mark in the PacWest. With the series now tied a one game apiece, ART U will return to The Master's University on Sunday to close out the series with a doubleheader beginning at Noon.