SAN DIEGO – In both parts of Academy of Art baseball's twin bill against No. 20 Point Loma the game's first run was scored on an ART U home run, but despite twice holding a lead in the early goings, PLNU stormed back twice to secure a Pacific West Conference doubleheader and series sweep by finals of 10-3 and 5-2. 

Rebounding from a slow offensive day yesterday, the Urban Knights (14-32, 7-25 PacWest) made some noise to close out the series with a pair of home runs from sophomore shortstop Emil Jellinek and freshman first baseman Michael Wiborn, and those two swings drove in four of the five combined ART U runs on the day. During game one it was Jellinek, launching his team-leading sixth blast of the year to tie him for second-most in a single season in program history. Following in game two was Wiborn, who sent one over the right field fence for the first dinger of his collegiate career.

Unfortunately, both games saw the nationally-ranked Sea Lions (34-12, 22-8 PacWest) storm back to capture victories, the first of which secured the regular season PacWest title after they scored 10 unanswered runs. Today's game two was similar to yesterday's second half, with Point Loma being held off the scoreboard until their turn at the dish in the sixth when they scored five times, locking down the top of the seventh for the victory in the shortened second game.

GAME ONE – #20 PLNU 10, ART U 3
A pair of singles for the Knights put a pair on with two outs, and the Sea Lions responded with a one-out single of their own, but both sides were left empty handed. Three batters into the second and the Urban Knights had flipped the game on its head with a 3-0 lead, as graduate student Landon Levine doubled down the left field line before a bunt single from junior third baseman Ryne Lina put them at the corners, though their spot hardly mattered as Jellinek ripped a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to bring them both in. 

Point Loma chipped away at the ART U lead with a run in the home half of the inning, as a triple down the right field line from Hunter Otjen allowed David Garcia to score all the way from first, as he led off the frame with a single. Just an inning later and PLNU was able to steal the game's momentum when they scored a trio of runs in the third, stealing the ART U recipe with their own three-run blast after three consecutive hits. 

Academy of Art had their chance to tie the game in the away half of the fourth, loading the bases with one out thanks to singles from Lina and sophomore second baseman Larry Fonseca as well as a walk from Jellinek. However, all runners were left stranded after a flyout and strikeout, and things compounded in the bottom of the frame as the Sea Lions added insurance on a one-out RBI double. 

Both sides had a hit batter in the fifth, and the Knights even had a single from Rizzo, but all runners were left on base. After the Knights were retired in order during the top of the sixth, Point Loma broke open the contest with a five-spot which started with a leadoff homer. Another pair of hits, the second of which was a two-RBI single, and a pair of errors were responsible for the other four runs crossing the plate. 

Though the Knights generated a base runner in each of the seventh and eighth, that is all they could muster before going down in order in the ninth. Coming on in relief and picking up the victory was Matthew Schlessner, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings while allowing two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Meanwhile, Otjen showed his two-way skills by moving to the mound and pitching the final 4.0 innings, earning his fourth save in the process while allowing just a single hit with one punchout. Taking the loss was graduate student right Cannon Secrist, whose record fell to 2-7. 

There were a total of nine hits of Academy of Art, three of which belonged to Lina as he finished the contest 3-for-4 with a run. Six others had a hit, with Jellinek 1-for-3 with 3 RBI, a run scored and the homer, while Levine was just 1-for-4 with a run scored. 

GAME TWO – #20 PLNU 5, ART U 2 (7 INNINGS)
It took just two hits for the Urban Knights to score their two runs, which started after sophomore righty Cole Shafer danced out of a two-out, bases loaded situation in the bottom of the second when he was able to induce a weak comebacker before flipping to first. In stepped Wiborn, who left the yard for the first time on a 1-1 pitch to break the scoreless tie. 

For a second straight inning Shafer tight-roped out of a tough spot, as PLNU once again loaded the bases but this time did so with a pair of hits and a fielder's choice and no outs. Fielder's choices became the theme of the inning, as Shafer then induced a pair of groundballs to the hot corner where Lina took the play to the plate to stop the run from scoring. Finally, there was one last groundball to Wiborn at first with Shafter covering the bag to keep the lead intact. 

Rewarding Shafer for his hard work with an insurance run was senior outfielder Hayato Niki, as he led off the fourth with a single and then stole second despite an ART U strikeout. After moving up to third on a flyout, he eventually scored on a wild pitch to make the game 2-0. 

That score held all the way to the sixth despite Point Loma putting a pair of runners on in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth, but they broke through in a big way by scoring five times on a trio of hits. All three of those hits drove in runs, the last of which was an RBI triple that helped reload the bases once more with two outs before the Knights worked out of the jam. However, they were retired in order to bring an end to the seven-inning second game. 

Point Loma starter Ray Cebulski picked up his sixth win of the year by allowing just the two runs, only one earned, on two hits with four strikeouts. Cole Hillier shut the door in the seventh for his seventh save of the season, pitching a clean frame without a strikeout. Taking the loss was Shafer, who tossed a career-high 5.0+ innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits, striking out two and walking three. 

The 2023 ART U campaign will come to an end on Tuesday, May 2 as the Urban Knights return to the Bay Area to take on Holy Names in non-conference action from College of Alameda with first pitch beginning at 3 p.m.