Oakland, CA – Late-game rallies were again the story in Sunday's Pacific West Conference matchup of Academy of Art and Hawaii Pacific at Laney College. The nine-inning opener saw ART U score four runs over the final two innings despite the 8-6 Sea Warriors victory. Then, in the second contest, a pitcher's duel that featured seven strong innings from junior lefty Zach Mexicano (2-4) wound up in HPU's favor 3-1. Junior infielder Zach Babitt turned in an impressive 4-for-4 performance in the first game with three runs batted in and two runs scored.

“We had two games where we had good pitching performances and good opportunities, but we just came up short,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “We just have to wait for tide to turn when we come up on the other end of these kinds of games.”

Freshman righty Wade Broadstreet (0-3) made his second start of the year in the first contest and pitched well. The second inning proved to be particularly significant as Hawaii Pacific got ahead early with a three-run rally. After Broadstreet retired the Sea Warriors in order in the third, the visitors again tried to threaten in the fourth.

Although HPU loaded the bases with no outs in that inning, Broadstreet kept the damage to one lone run after posting a strikeout and inducing a double play to end it. Academy of Art fed off its starting pitcher's momentum by scoring in the bottom of the fourth. Senior outfielder Ryan Worley began with a double and then Babitt brought him home on a single.

The Urban Knights continued to claw their way back with another run in the sixth. Senior outfielder Johnathan Robbins singled and stole his way into scoring position for the eventual run-scoring hit from Babitt's bat. HPU pushed its advantage to 5-2 in the seventh, but ART U's eighth inning started a late-game comeback. Of the four hits in the eighth, junior infielder Kenny Rollins, Jr. and freshman catcher James Singzon each had RBI singles. Hawaii Pacific would score three more in the ninth, but the Knights still were not finished.

Babitt and senior infielder Darnell Quinney each had RBI doubles as part of a two-run rally in Academy of Art's final chance which closed the gap to the 8-6 final score. At the end of the opener, Babitt had played a role in five of the Knights' six runs in the game with three RBIs and two runs scored.

“Zach is having some good at-bats right now; he's hitting the ball on a line and it's falling for him,” Coach Guinn said. “It's fortunate for us that guys are on base when he's doing it. We hope it continues because baseball is one of those games with peaks and valleys. Right now he's at one of those peaks and we hope he can keep it there.”

Broadstreet posted a quality start with just three earned runs allowed on seven hits in 7.0 innings on the mound and two strikeouts. Quinney, who finished off the final two innings, allowed two earned runs, but struck out two Sea Warriors in the process.

“Our plan was to get at least six good innings out of our starters today and they delivered,” Coach Guinn said. “Wade threw strikes and kept hitters off balance. Then Darnell came in and threw the ball well. We just need to cut down on errors and we will come out on the top of some of these games.”


Mexicano got the Urban Knights off to a strong start with efficient pitching in game two. He retired six of the first seven batters he faced including a second inning where he did one better and struck out the side. The only run allowed by either team in the first five innings was a HPU sacrifice fly in the third as Mexicano continued to work quickly. At one point, the ART U lefty starter even retired seven consecutive Sea Warriors. Hawaii Pacific managed to capitalize in the sixth, however, when outfielder Keanu Kapana hit a two-run home run to give HPU a 3-0 lead.

“Zach was looking sharp today,” Coach Guinn said. “He made one mistake with the home run, but he was throwing his breaking ball well and when he's like that, he can be tough to hit because he's throwing it for strikes.”

Still within striking distance, Academy of Art made a valiant attempt to comeback again in the final inning. In the seventh, sophomore infielder Stefen Henderson hit a double followed by a RBI single for Singzon. HPU was able to hold on in the end for a closely contested 3-1 victory.

Babitt and Quinney were at the forefront of the Knights' offense on Sunday. Babitt was 4-for-4 in the first contest with three RBIs and two runs scored, marking the second four-hit game in his last three. After hitting the second triple of his career in game two, Quinney finished the day 4-for-7 with a RBI and a run scored. With a pair on Sunday, Quinney has now amassed nine multi-hit games this season. Like Broadstreet, Mexicano also threw a quality start with three runs allowed on five hits in a complete 7.0 innings and five strikeouts. ART U moves to 2-18 overall, 2-12 in the PacWest.

Each with three-hit games in the opener, infielder Wade Tamaru and catcher Jordan Inamasu combined to go 6-for-8 with two RBIs and four runs scored in that contest. Kapana followed with the big home run in the second game and finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs.  Game one's winning pitcher was Michael Greene (3-3) who turned in 8.0 innings of work with four runs allowed (three earned) on 11 hits and three strikeouts. Matching up against Mexicano in the game two pitcher's duel was Peter Ibanez (1-0) who earned the victory after a complete 7.0 innings with one run allowed on four hits. Hawaii Pacific improves to 11-13 overall, 8-5 in PacWest action.

The Knights' home series versus Hawaii Pacific continues the evening of Monday, Mar. 21. ART U and HPU are scheduled to play a single nine-inning contest back at Laney College with first pitch set for 7:00 PM.

“We're just looking to keep playing hard and competing,” Coach Guinn said. “It would be nice to get a split in the conference games and go from there. We'll keep battling and hopefully we'll be on the other side of these games soon.”