GAME #19
AAU Urban Knights (0-18) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay Otters (7-24)
Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Cal State Monterey Bay, Baseball Complex

Game Notes

THE WEEK AHEAD:
Wrapping up a seven-day, nine-game stretch on Monday, Academy of Art University returns to the Baseball Complex in Seaside, CA for another one-game matchup with the CSU Monterey Bay Otters on Tuesday, Mar. 31. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 PM.

LOOKING BEYOND:
The Urban Knights begin April with a four-game series against CSU Stanislaus in Turlock, CA followed by a pair of games versus two different teams on Apr. 10. The early contest will be between AAU and CSU Dominguez Hills while the afternoon game pairs Academy of Art University with CSU San Bernardino.

SCOUTING THE OTTERS:
When Cal State Monterey Bay and Academy of Art University met before on Mar. 20, and most of the damage in the 13-2 Otter victory came at the hands of three players: senior utility Steve Mays, senior infielder Matt DeJesus, and freshman infielder Niko Kanakaris. Mays was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs, DeJesus hit a two-run home run and earned two walks while Kanakaris added a three-run homer all basically within the first five innings of the contest. Pitching for CSUMB in that game was junior Patrick McClain (1-2) who earned his first victory of the season and allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. The bright spots for AAU were sophomore first baseman Chris Vargas who went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the year as well as senior catcher Florentino Ubungen and sophomore second baseman Van Hanson who both posted multi-hit games. Overall, the Otters are 7-24 and they will face CSU Stanislaus for four games over the weekend before meeting the Urban Knights again.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII - HILO SERIES:
Competing in their only home games of the season, the Urban Knights dropped back-to-back doubleheaders to the UHH Vulcans this past Sunday and Monday. Academy of Art University fell behind early in the first game and struggled through a four-run seventh inning en route to a 9-2 loss before a rough second game ended 11-3 in favor of UHH at USF's Benedetti Field on Sunday. Monday followed with a contest at Menlo College in which AAU scored the first three runs, but unraveled in the late innings for a 9-5 defeat. Then, in the second game, the Urban Knight offense exploded for four home runs, but the Vulcans responded with another late rally to take a 21-14 victory home. The overall series numbers were impressive for the Knights as Vargas was 5-for-14 with two home runs, four RBIs, three runs and two walks, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Darnell Quinney was 5-for-12 with four runs scored, three RBIs, and two walks, Ubungen was 4-for-14 with three runs scored, three RBIs and two walks, and junior right fielder Mike Gutierrez was 4-for-14 with four RBIs, one run scored and one walk.