OAKLAND, Calif. – Records were meant to be broken. And in ART U baseball's case, they were meant to be broken three years in-a-row. Academy of Art swept UH Hilo in Sunday's doubleheader, registering their 20th and 21st wins, breaking the single-season, program-record. This is the third-consecutive season that the Urban Knights have broken this record, and this time, it gave them a 3-0 series lead over the Vulcans.
 
GAME ONE: ART U 8, UH HILO 7
 
UH Hilo jumped on ART U starter (junior right-hander Ben Kaser) early, tallying three hits in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. However, the Urban Knights stormed back in the bottom of the frame, sending 11 batters to the plate while collecting a total of seven runs on eight hits. Furthermore, the Knights rattled off four-consecutive doubles and had five extra-base hits in all, along with two stolen bases.
 
ART U added one more run the following inning when senior outfielder Izac Bauer collected his second base hit and RBI in as many innings. This was all that ART U would score in the contest, but they made it hold up despite a near, complete-comeback from the Vulcans: after Kaser allowed the run in the first, he settled down and did not concede another until the top of the fifth when UHH scored an unearned run on a pair of hits and an error.

 
In the seventh, the Vulcans pulled themselves back into contention when their hottest hitter (Phillip Steering) launched a grand slam over the left-field wall to make it a two-run ballgame (8-6). Two innings later, Steering brought the Vulcans within one run with his second homer of the game, a solo-shot to left field with two outs. However, senior righty Chris Rost, who relieved junior Mason Verhees in the seventh, slammed the door shut two pitches later to record his second save of the season.
 
Bauer had a big game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Both junior designated hitter Donnie Gardiner and junior infielder Elijah Smith recorded a pair of hits each while Smith collected his sixth triple of the season.
 
GAME TWO: ART U 2, UH HILO 1 (7IN)
 
Sunday's second game featured much less offense than the first, but it certainly did not lack for excitement.
 
The Urban Knights dominated the majority of the contest, thanks to another brilliant start from senior righty Chris Petrosie. The Miami native tossed his second-consecutive complete game and did not allow a run to score until there were two outs in the ninth.
 
Meanwhile, ART U took a 1-0 lead in their first at-bats when senior outfielder Jackson Murphy sent the seventh-pitch of his at-bat up the middle to drive in Smith from third. The Knights made it 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Smith sent his seventh triple of the year into the right-center field gap, allowing junior outfielder Taj Dawson to score all the way from first base. Smith now leads the PacWest in three-baggers and his total is nearly double the previous ART U single-season record (4). He is just three shy of the overall career triples mark (10) which is owned by Stefan Henderson (2010-13).  
 
Smith's RBI proved to be winning run as UH Hilo once again made things interesting in the final inning: looking to finish the game, Petrosie headed out to the mound in the top of the seventh, but immediately loaded the bases with one out. He struck out the following batter looking, pulling the Knights within one out of the shutout. However, UHH's Jonathan Segovia hit a ground ball deep in the hole to senior infielder Taylor Martin at shortstop, whose throw to first was not in time to beat the runner. The infield single allowed the Vulcans to score and kept the bases loaded with the score now 2-1. Now coming up to-bat was Steering who was a thorn in ART U's side all afternoon. Nonetheless, on a 1-2 count, Petrosie forced the slugger to line out to Martin at short to end the game and secure the Urban Knights' doubleheader sweep and 3-0 series lead.
 
Academy of Art improves to 21-19 with the two wins and they are 16-15 in the PacWest. Their 16 conference victories are now tied for the most in program history (a record which was set in 2017). ART U will now go for their third series-sweep of the season when they face UH Hilo in Monday night's finale. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. and live stats can be found here.