Box Score #1
Box Score #2

Hilo, HI – The Urban Knights battled Hawaii-Hilo through moist conditions and numerous game-changing situations Tuesday night at Wong Stadium. The series opener featured four ties and four lead changes, but a five-run Vulcan eighth ended up being the difference in a 9-6 UHH win. In game two, Hawaii-Hilo gained an early 4-0 advantage and though the Urban Knights attempted a valiant late comeback, the home team prevailed 6-3.

“Once again they were winnable games today,” Head Coach Brian Guinn said. “We just had a little bad luck on our side and it seemed like everything was going the other way for us in these games.”

For the third consecutive game, Academy of Art was able to score in the first inning. Junior outfielder Johnathan Robbins initiated the opportunity with a single to right and after junior infielder Zach Babitt also singled, the runners worked a double steal. From there, junior outfielder Niko Leite was able to bring one home on a groundout.

Though the Vulcans answered back with a run of their own in the first, freshman starter Wade Broadstreet (0-9) made a spectacular back-handed grab to start an inning-ending double play. As the momentum of his pitching motion took him off the mound, Broadstreet whipped his arm behind his back and snagged the fast-approaching grounder before throwing to second and getting out of the inning.

“Wade pitched well again,” Coach Guinn said. “He really battles out there and we just didn't give him the support he needed. In terms of that catch, he's a shortstop so he's got good hands and usually if the ball hits his glove it stays in there.”

A 1-1 tie for the next two innings, the Urban Knights retook the lead in the fourth on a pair of run-scoring hits. Junior infielder Jared DePatto doubled home senior infielder Darnell Quinney to start and then senior outfielder Ryan Worley tripled for the second time on this Hawaii trip to score DePatto. ART U held the advantage only briefly, however, as a two-run UHH rally in the last of the fourth made it 3-3.

Hawaii-Hilo plated a run in the fifth to assume a 4-3 advantage, but that lead did not last long either after a Knights seventh inning burst. Academy of Art got going with a single by Robbins and then the junior outfielder stole both second and third. Babitt would walk and on his second stolen base of the afternoon, a wild throw by the UHH catcher allowed Robbins to score. Junior infielder Kenny Rollins, Jr. added a sacrifice fly and ART U was up 5-4.

A difficult bottom of the eighth then ensued with five unearned runs coming for UHH. After the inning began with an error, Broadstreet got one out and left runners at first and third when he was replaced by sophomore Stefen Henderson. Three Hawaii-Hilo hits followed including a two-run single by Kekoa Lee, but all runs scored wound up being unearned due to another ART U error. Broadstreet had an impressive start despite the loss, going 7.1 innings on the mound with four earned runs allowed on 12 hits in addition to four strikeouts.

Despite the margin, Academy of Art nearly came back in the ninth inning, beginning with consecutive singles by Robbins and Babitt. Quinney later had a RBI single, then with two on and two out, freshman catcher James Singzon stepped to the plate representing the tying run. On the sixth pitch of his at-bat, Singzon drove the ball deep to right, but it did not have enough to get over the fence and UHH's outfielder caught the final out. The end result was a 9-6 victory for Hawaii-Hilo.

“[Game one] was very back-and-forth,” Coach Guinn said. “It's just so unpredictable, but we swung the bats well.”


The Vulcans took an early 2-0 lead in game two primarily due to walks by Academy of Art pitchers. A two-run single in the second inning would put UHH up by four, but junior reliever Kallen Fletcher (0-5) was then able to get through the third inning in order on just seven pitches. He would retire seven consecutive batters, bridging the second and fourth innings.

Academy of Art broke up the shutout with two runs in the sixth after singles by Babitt and Leite. With speed on the bases, the Knights took advantage of wild pitches and a throwing error to eventually score both runners. A close 4-2 game suddenly became a 6-2 margin when UHH scored twice with the bases loaded in the last of the sixth inning. ART U made one final push in the seventh using a one-out double by Henderson and later a RBI single by Robbins. Unfortunately for Academy of Art, the Vulcans were able to escape with a 6-3 victory.

Offensively, Robbins and Leite both wielded hot bats on Tuesday night. Robbins posted a pair of three-hit games, 3-for-5 in the opener and 3-for-4 in game two, along with three stolen bases (all in the first contest), two runs scored, and one RBI. Fresh off his PacWest Weekly Top 10 selection, Leite remained hot in conference play with a 4-for-8 day that included one RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base. Babitt also had a productive doubleheader after going 4-for-7 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. ART U registered seven steals in the opening contest alone to tie the team's season best. The Knights currently sit at 6-41 overall and are 6-24 in the PacWest.

“We're going to steal some bases and we're at 93 as a team now so that's part of it for us: We're going to run,” Coach Guinn said. “The main thing is the team hasn't given up all year and they've battled all the way. We just need to correct some things and hopefully that can start with the games tomorrow.”

Lee was Hawaii-Hilo's RBI leader for the day, going 7-for-9 with five RBIs, four runs scored, and two doubles. Reliever Bryan Raines (3-1) came on to pick up the game one win with 2.1 innings on the mound and one run surrendered. Righty Tyler Simao (4-5) won in the second contest after throwing 6.0 innings with two runs allowed on seven hits and five strikeouts. Hawaii-Hilo now sports a 19-25 overall record, 14-16 in conference play.

Academy of Art and Hawaii-Hilo will face one another once again tomorrow, May 4, on the last day of the season. The Knights and Vulcans are scheduled for another doubleheader with the first pitch set for 12:00 PM HST (3:00 PM PST).