Box Score #1
Box Score #2
Moraga, CA --- The Academy of Art University baseball team (0-12, 0-4 PacWest) wrapped up its series against Dixie State College (10-6, 3-3 PacWest) with a pair of close losses, 3-1 and 8-2, at Louis Guisto Baseball Field. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Zach Mexicano (0-1) and freshman righty Drew Sullivan-Hames (0-4) teamed up for two quality starts on the mound versus the top team in the PacWest two years running.
“We had great support from Sullivan-Hames and Mexicano today,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “Since the beginning of the season, I think we've improved tremendously and it showed today. We're playing hard for seven and nine innings and the guys are just getting better every inning. We will iron out some of our physical mistakes and we'll be competing like we did today for the rest of the season.”
For six innings through game one, the Urban Knights and Red Storm had a pitcher's duel back and forth. DSC struck first with one run in the third inning on consecutive singles. However, Mexicano was not fazed as he proceeded to hold Dixie State to a single hit over the next three innings.
In the fourth, junior designated hitter Chris Vargas led off with a walk before Academy of Art got back-to-back two-out singles. Freshman catcher Chris Holmes brought Vargas home and the game was tied 1-1. The score held up until the seventh inning when the Red Storm rallied for two runs with two-outs and earned the 3-1 victory.
Mexicano finished the game allowing three runs on seven hits over a career-high 7.0 innings of work for the complete game. The left-hander also achieved a new career-high with five strikeouts.
Academy of Art University had another impressive performance on the mound in the second game against the Red Storm. This one came from Sullivan-Hames who threw a season-high 6.2 innings allowing just one earned run with two strikeouts. Two runs were scored by Dixie State in the first inning on a home run, but Sullivan-Hames shut down the visitors over the next three innings. The right-hander posted three shutout innings and allowed just three hits in that span.
Down 2-0, the Urban Knights took one run back on a sacrifice fly by Vargas in the third inning. Freshman shortstop Stefen Henderson then tied the game with an RBI double in the fourth to score sophomore first baseman Jared DePatto.
In the fifth inning, the Red Storm scored one on an RBI single and then added two more in the sixth to gain a three-run advantage. Drew Sullivan-Hames managed to work through two batters in the seventh, but he was eventually replaced by sophomore right-hander Brandon Kistler. Kistler and Sullivan-Hames were victims of tough luck after a defensive error was committed in the seventh and Dixie State took the 8-2 win.
Junior left fielder Ryan Worley, a big part of AAU's offense in the first doubleheader, tied the most hits of his career in a single game with a 3-for-4 performance in the second contest. He finished Saturday 4-for-8 with his third stolen base of the season. Henderson was 2-for-3 on the day with one run batted in while Holmes went 1-for-3 with the Knights' lone RBI in the first game.
“Ryan's been working really hard at focusing at the plate,” Coach Guinn said. “He's working with Mike Felder and myself to be successful at the plate. We've had the opportunity to work just on hitting and with his work ethic, I think he's really starting to buy in to philosophy of hitting. He has lots of skills and a big upside.”
In addition to the solid offense, Academy of Art had arguably its two best pitching performances in this doubleheader. Mexicano pitched a complete game in the first contest with three runs allowed on seven hits and set his new career-high of five strikeouts. In game two, Sullivan-Hames threw a strong 6.2 innings allowing a total of seven runs, but just one of those was earned. He added two strikeouts of his own.
Dixie State was led by centerfielder Brett Adams who was 3-for-8 with four runs batted in, one home run, and four runs scored. Left fielder Quinn Boyer finished the day 3-for-7 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Right-handed starter Preston Grimes (2-3) took the win in game one with six complete innings, one run allowed, and six strikeouts. Right-handed reliever Lane Kirby (2-0) got the victory in the second contest after two innings of two-hit ball.
Urban Knights baseball is back in action on Mar. 12-13 when AAU travels to Phoenix, AZ for a four-game series with Grand Canyon University. Each day will feature a doubleheader with the first set for 3:00 PM MST and the second day beginning at 1:00 PM MST.
