HILO, Hawaii – Saturday saw Academy of Art baseball mount comeback attempts in both halves of a Pacific West Conference doubleheader against UH Hilo, but unfortunately both would fall short as the Vulcans were able to outlast ART U down the stretch for a pair of two-run victories in a twin bill sweep by finals of 6-4 and 7-5 (seven innings).  

"Really tough series against a really good team," said ART U Head Coach Dan McDermott. "Hilo played very well, but so did we. I thought the difference in the series came down to the fact that UH Hilo was able to bunch their hits together at opportune times."

Coming off a split of the first two games in the series, the Vulcans (22-13, 11-11 PacWest) jumped in front in early and forced the Urban Knights (9-22, 3-13 PacWest) to chase the lead all of game one. Three runs in the top of the eighth had momentum swinging in the favor of ART U, but Hilo was able to clamp down to preserve the win. Roles would slightly reverse in game two with the Knights snatching the lead after the first three innings, but ART U was unable to hold it after three consecutive two-run innings put UH Hilo ahead for good. Collecting two hits in both games was junior middle infielder Adam Inouye, finishing his day 4-for-8 with two runs scored and an RBI, while the Knights as a unit collected a total of 22 hits. 

"We outhit them and had more quality at-bats, however, at the ed of teh day it comes down to who score the most runs," McDermott said. "[Ryan] Gamboa, [Dominic] Ruggiero, [Adam] Inouye and [Travis Turney] did a great job of putting the ball in play all weekend. We have a day to rest and we will get back to work with practices on Monday and Tuesday in anticipation of a tough series against Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday."

GAME ONE – HILO 6, ART U 4
Things got off to a quick start with the Vulcans putting up a three-spot in the bottom of the first, with two runs crossing the plate on a homer to left field from Ryan Cho that came with two retired in the frame. Academy of Art would get a run back in the next half inning with a trio of singles, the first two coming from Inouye and senior first baseman Vincent Lontz before the final from Emil Jellinek resulted in an RBI, but UH Hilo would start the bottom of the second with back-to-back triples en route to scoring another two runs. 

Scoring would slow down through the middle innings, but the Vulcans would add on to their lead in the fifth with a run on a RBI single into left field, though the chance to add another was cut down at the plate on an outfield assist from graduate student outfielder Travis Turney. 

In one of their final chances the Urban Knights would strike for three runs, beginning the inning with consecutive singles from redshirt senior middle infielder Dominic Ruggiero and senior outfielder Ty Conrad before both advanced on a wild pitch. Both runners would score on back-to-back sacrifice flies, while graduate student catcher Ryan Gamboa was responsible for the other RBI when he lined an 0-1 single into right field to score Lontz, who had reached earlier in the inning on a walk. 

That would be as close as ART U could come, as John Kea would shut the door by tossing the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit and striking out one, earning his eighth save of the year. Credited with the win was Chriistian DeJesus, who allowed just three earned runs despite giving up 11 hits over 7.0 innings pitched, though he did have five strikeouts. Taking the loss was ART U sophomore right-hander Dallen Turner, who's record falls to 1-2. 

Nine different Urban Knights would collect hits in a game where ART U totaled 12 as a squad, led by the 3-for-4 effort with a run scored and an RBI from Turney while Inouye ended 2-for-5.

GAME TWO – HILO 7, ART U 5 (7)
It was the Knights who got on the board first in game two, as Inouye led off the game with a single into right field before working his way around the bases to score on an RBI groundout from Lontz. The lead did not last long as UH Hilo would get the run back and knot the game at 1-1 in the home half of the second after an RBI double to left field by Bradyn Yoshida. 

A response would come quickly from the Knights, retaking the lead with a pair of runs in the away half of the third, one of which scored on an error while the other crossed in exciting fashion. With the bases empty and two outs, Rizzo jumped on a 1-1 pitch and crushed a homer to left center field, as his second dinger of the year made the ART U lead 3-1. 

Again the lead would be short-lived as the Vulcans scored two runs in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to turn the tides and build a four-run cushion. Not going away quietly, the Knights would produce three hits in the top of the seventh as they mounted the comeback, all started by a leadoff single from Jellinek. He would come around to score on an RBI groundout from Inouye after he had been moved over to third base by a double from junior catcher/utility Robbie Brue. A clutch two-out single from Conrad drove home the other run in the frame, but a groundout would bring about the end to the game with the Vulcans in front 7-5. 

Three different Urban Knights posted a multi-hit game, as each of Inouye, Conrad and Brue each posting a two-hit efforts. Inouye closed out 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, Conrad followed behind at 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Brue was 2-for-3 with a run scored. The home run from Rizzo would be his only hit of the game, as he would finish 1-for-4. 

While the Knights were able to chase Hilo starter Aaron Davies from the ballgame without a decision, reliever Ty Honda would earn his second win of the year with a scoreless inning in relief. Notching his second save of the day was Kea, who ran into trouble but was once again able to close the door with two runs allowed on three hits in a six-out save. 

The road trip continues in Hawaii as the Urban Knights hop islands to face off against Hawaii Pacific in a four-game PacWest series beginning on Mar. 30 at 2 p.m. HST.