OAKLAND, Calif. -- ART U was locked in another pitchers duel in game four versus Concordia from outstanding performances by a trio of Urban Knights and although they kept it close the entire game, the Knights fell 3-1 Saturday at Laney College.

"Really proud of several of the players this weekend," said head coach Dan McDermott. "It's great to have Elijah Smith back in the lineup after missing him the majority of the Hawaii trip and Donnie Gardiner, our third string catcher, was fantastic filling in the catching role."

The duel started with a three-up three-down first by senior pitcher Gonzo Rios. The Los Angeles native only allowed two hits and one earned run in his 5.1 innings of work to lower his earned run average to a team leading 2.48.

"The pitching had a lot of bright spots," commented McDermott. "Rios made three appearances on the weekend, two in relief one as a starter, and performed well. Jayson Summers and Galen Manhard were outstanding in relief."

The Eagles did the majority of their damage in top of the second after a fielding error by the Knights gave them two unearned runs. ART U came back with a run in the fourth inning when junior shortstop Justin Summers knocked in senior second baseman Elijah Smith to bring the Knights within one.

CUI scored their final run in the top of the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. After the run junior pitcher Jayson Summers was brought on to take over the pitching duties and had one of his most successful outings, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings while only surrendering one hit. Junior pitcher Galen Manhard took over in the ninth and continued the relief dominance, striking out two without giving a run. In the bottom half of the inning ART U put two runners on with a single from senior utility Angel Mora and Smith, but the runners were left stranded, and the Knights dropped the final game of the series 3-1.

"We need to continue to work on our offensive attack and production," said McDermott. "Our situational hitting and pitching selection will be the focus of practice this week."

The loss moves Academy of Art to 13-17 overall, and 5-14 in conference play. ART U will now hit the road for Los Angeles where they are set to play a four game series versus Biola starting Thursday April 11.