Moraga, CA --- The Urban Knights went deep twice against the top team in the PacWest Conference, but Hawaii Pacific (18-5 overall, 13-2 in PacWest) topped Academy of Art (2-17 overall, 2-9 in PacWest) 9-6 and 7-1 in the Friday doubleheader at Louis Guisto Baseball Field. In game one, junior left fielder Ryan Worley launched the first home run of his career over the left field fence and finished the day 2-for-7 with three runs scored, two RBIs, and one stolen base. One inning later, freshman shortstop Stefen Henderson hit his first long ball as a Knight, wrapping up the day 1-for-5 with two RBIs and one run scored.

“Yesterday, after having good at-bats, we were squaring up a lot of pitches and that's where they go when you're seeing the ball well,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “There is a different air about this team since they won against Grand Canyon. They feel like they belong and they're going to get better as we keep playing.”

Sophomore starting pitcher Alex Rosenthal (1-5) put away the first six batters he faced in game one to get Academy of Art off to a strong start defensively. Worley then put the Knights up in the first inning with a double to left field followed by freshman first baseman Andy Caniezo's RBI single. With AAU up 1-0, the Sea Warriors rallied to the tune of five runs in the third inning.

The Urban Knights struck back quickly thereafter by way of a two-run third in which sophomore centerfielder Johnathan Robbins got aboard after being hit by a pitch. Worley came to the plate and promptly drove the first pitch he saw 360 feet over the fence in left field to make the score 5-3 in favor of the Sea Warriors.

After Rosenthal kept Hawaii Pacific off the scoreboard in the fourth, AAU went deep yet again in its half of the inning. Henderson made HPU's pitching pay for hitting sophomore third baseman Kenny Rollins, Jr. by hitting the first pitch of his at-bat out of the ballpark over the 375-foot mark in left center. The first home run of Henderson's career also tied the contest 5-5 halfway through.

The score would not remained tied for long because the Sea Warriors had four singles and one hit batter in the fifth leading to three runs. Hawaii Pacific added one more run in the sixth to make the score 9-5, however, the Knights managed one more run in the seventh as part of a last gasp. Robbins reached first on an error and later came around to score on a RBI single by Caniezo. Junior designated hitter Darnell Quinney, who had gotten aboard on a double earlier, also tried to come home on the play, but he was thrown out by the centerfielder for HPU. The Sea Warriors then earned the final out and took the 9-6 victory.

Rosenthal pitched 4.0 innings for Academy of Art, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts. Sophomore righty Brandon Kistler provided a season-high 3.0 innings of relief with just one run allowed on three hits.

In game two, Hawaii Pacific threw its ace, lefty Caelan O'Meara (3-1), but he was not untouchable against the Knights' offense. On the other side of a lefty versus lefty matchup, sophomore left-hander Zach Mexicano (0-3) took the mound for AAU. Mexicano got through the first inning with just nine pitches, but HPU put together a four-run second to take the lead early.

The fourth was a classic small-ball inning for the Urban Knights. Worley reached base on an error by HPU's third baseman and soon swiped second base despite O'Meara's left-handed advantage. With two outs, Caniezo knocked Worley home on an RBI single up the middle to make the score 4-1 with Hawaii Pacific on top. Mexicano made a valiant effort on the mound, but the Sea Warriors plated three more runs in the fifth and held on to the 7-1 advantage the rest of the way.

At the end of the day, Worley added yet another milestone to his impressive 2010 resume: the first home run of his Urban Knight career. Thus far this season, Worley has shown his offense by setting new career-highs with three hits in a game on two occasions, two RBIs in AAU's second victory against GCU on Mar. 13, and a six-game hitting streak (spanning late Feb. to early Mar.) for the second time in his career. Adding a home run to that list as well as a 2-for-4, two run, two RBI performance was extra special for the junior outfielder.

“He was excited about it,” Coach Guinn said. “You know, I watched Worley back in his high school days and through college and he has a lot of pop in his bat. He is putting a good swing on the ball right now.”

In addition to Worley's success, Henderson had the first home run since becoming and Urban Knight. He was 1-for-3 in game one with two RBIs and one run scored on the big shot to left center. Caniezo continued his latest success at the plate. He became the fourth Knight to have at least three hits in a game this season with his 3-for-4, two RBI outing in game one. Caniezo added two more hits in the second contest to finish the day 5-for-7. Freshman catcher Chris Holmes extended his three-game hit streak with a single and a double in the first contest.

“I continue to believe this is one of the most athletic teams in the PacWest Conference,” Coach Guinn said. “They may be young, but they are very talented.”

The Sea Warriors were led by first baseman Kale Sumner in the pair of games on Friday afternoon. Sumner was 4-for-7 with four runs batted in, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Right-hander David Chow (1-0) earned his first victory of the season in the first contest with a five-run, six-hit performance in 4.0 innings of work. O'Meara went the distance in game two get the win with one unearned run and three hits allowed over 7.0 innings on the mound.

Academy of Art and Hawaii Pacific will conclude their five-game series tomorrow afternoon with two more seven-inning contests at Louis Guisto Baseball Field. The first game will be a PacWest Conference game while the second will be a non-conference pairing. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 12:00 PM.