HAYWARD, Calif. – After Academy of Art baseball had a slow offensive start to the series with Cal State East Bay, things turned around on the final day of the series with a total of 13 runs in Saturday's doubleheader, ultimately leading to a doubleheader split as the Pioneers grabbed game one 6-4 while ART U took the series finale, 9-5 (seven innings). 

The Urban Knights (1-3) totaled only three runs in the first game of the season, and more than quadrupled that with their output in one day against the Pioneers (2-1), even though it did only lead to a split of the day's games while CSUEB earned the series win. Claiming the victory for the Knights on the mound in the shortened second game was senior Cannon Secrist, who tossed 5.0 full innings while allowing just two runs and striking out five. Junior second baseman Adam Inouye and redshirt senior shortstop Dominic Ruggiero collected hits in each game and are the only two Knights to hit safely in all four games this season, as Inouye was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and a double while Ruggiero was 2-for-7 with four RBI and a double.

GAME ONE – CSUEB 6, ART U 4
Cal State East Bay started the scoring early with a quick three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a double driving home a pair of runners before bringing in one more on a groundout, and added one another run with an RBI single in the bottom of the second for a bit more insurance. 

Starting in the third, ART U would chip away at the lead, as the Knights scored their first run of the day when Inouye scored on a groundout from graduate student outfielder Travis Turney after leading off the frame with a double. 

In the fifth inning was when the rest of the CSUEB lead would disappear, as the Knights used a three spot to knot the game at 4-4. Runners would reach second and third on an error immediately following a Inouye base hit, and scored the following play on an error from a batted ball by junior outfielder Hayato Niki. With Niki remaining at second base from the error, he would be the tying run that came around to score on a RBI single from Ruggiero.

Short-lived was the tie as the Pioneers pushed across a run in the home half of the fifth, as a double and single led off the inning leaving runners at the corners, with the man at third crossing the plate on a delayed double steal after a strikeout. While the Knights would threaten they would not find the tying run again, as the Pioneers continued to add on with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. 

Tossing all eight innings for the Urban Knights was right-handed senior Collin Carriger, who walked away with four earned runs allowed and three strikeouts as well as his first loss of the season. At the dish, Inouye was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and the double while senior first baseman Vincent Lontz scored the other run and was 1-for-3. 

GAME TWO – ART U 9, CSUEB 5 (7)
Neither team touched the scoreboard early on, as both starting pitchers primarily cruised through the first three innings before the Knights blew things wide open with seven-run fourth-inning. Senior outfielder Ty Conrad was hit by a pitch and Turney walked to put two men on with one man out, allowing Conrad to score on an RBI single through the left side from freshman infielder Emil Jellinek.

Keeping the line moving, Lontz doubled home Turney and kept a pair of runners in scoring position, both of which would come around to score on a wild pitch while and Inouye's hit. The bases became fully loaded after a another walk and hit-by-pitch, setting the table for Ruggiero to drive all three in on a double into left field for the final runs of the fifth. 

Though he would make it through the bottom of the fifth, Secrist would be lifted to begin the sixth, with sophomore right-hander Dallen Turner entering in a save situation after the Knights had run into a bit of a jam and allowed three runs. Things got tense after hitting the first batter immediately after entering, Turner would induce a flyout and a double play to get out of the frame and hold the ART U lead at 5-3. 

He would get a bit of insurance from Jellinek in the top of the seventh, who blasted the first ART U home run of the season on the first pitch he saw with a shot to left field to also score Turney, who reached a batter before with a double. The ninth inning would be much less stress, as Turner would go 1-2-3 for his first save as an Urban Knight. It preserved the win for Secrist, who logged his first winning decision of the season and was the first Urban Knight to do so. 

Both Jellinek and Lontz ended with a pair of hits, with Jellinek scoring a pair of runs and driving in three, while Lontz scored just once and had a double. Four other Urban Knights would collect hits, with Turney scoring a pair of runs while Ruggiero drove in three. 

ART U returns to the field on Feb. 11 when the Knights hit the road for a battle at Sonoma State beginning at 2 p.m.