Box Score

Oakland, CA -- It seems like the Urban Knights of been waiting all year for that one big hit to get them started, but in the series finale against Hawaii Hilo on Monday night, they jumped on every clutch opportunity and got a huge win that broke them out of a long offensive funk, coming away with a gutsy 8-5 victory at Laney College.

There were plenty of tremendous performances to choose from to highlight this win, which was noticeably more significant than any of the wins so far this year. You could single out Stefen Henderson's program-record five RBIs, or that the first-baseman broke out of a personal slump to go 2-for-3 with two walks. Or you could point out that Spencer Roland went a career-best 7.0 innings, giving up only two earned runs and getting the win. There was also freshman Bryce Hutchings, who came in from center field to get a six-out save. Or Zach Babitt, who was 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, and three runs scored.

"We played a complete game out there today," said head coach Brian Guinn. "We got some of the hits that we've been looking for. We got the pitching performance we've been looking for. This is just what we've needed to give us a big spark as a team."

Baseball as a team game, and the Urban Knights have stressed all year that they win as a team and they lose as a team. The team pounded out 12 hits, one less than their season high. Every starter except Hutchings got a hit, but his save was just as important. The team coaxed five walks out of the Vulcans pitchers. The team made some mistakes, but with the game on the line, the defense came through.

Roland got his first start of the year, after three solid pitching performances by the rest of the staff that ended in three hard defeats, and the crafty lefty mowed down the Hilo lineup with ease in the first inning. The Vulcans got runners on second and third in the second inning, but Roland got Tyler Nitahara to line out to shortstop to end the inning. Hilo then got their first hit in the third inning, which was quickly erased when Roland picked off John Abreu and then got Joshua Wong to fly out to set them down.

“[The win] felt good. I feel like we were overdue," said Roland, who earned his first career win after 26 career appearances. "I just tried to go out there and do what I can do, and I enjoyed every minute of it. For me, I was just trying to stay true to my mechanics and keep the ball down. We wanted to pitch to contact and let our defense work so I felt like I was pretty effective in doing that and we got a win so it worked out.”

The Knights got their offense going in the bottom of the third inning, when Niko Leite got hit by a pitch with one out. Zach Babitt ripped a double down the right field line with Leite stopping at third. Stefen Henderson, who was in the cleanup spot all year, jumped on the first pitch to score both runs and give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Henderson was picked off, which proved to be unfortunate because of James Singzon's ensuing double, but Chris Holmes grounded out to end the inning.

Hilo got one back in the top of the fourth after they got back-to-back hits from Johnathan James and Tyson Goo. Austin Cusack sacrificed both runners over, and then Jeremy Kaaukai hit a sacrifice fly. But Roland worked out of trouble again, getting left-fielder Greg Cleary to ground out to end the inning with the Knights still leading 2-1.

"Spencer is very effective when he's throwing strikes," said Guinn. "He does a great job upsetting the timing of the hitters, and he was around the plate. He was excited to get the start, and I just told him that Jamie Moyer has made a living for over 20 years throwing strikes, so that's all he has to do."

“I think Spencer did a good job keeping the ball in the strike zone," Singzon said. "I think forcing [Hawaii Hilo] to hit the ball really put pressure on them. His pitching style is really tough to hit so they hit themselves into outs and that worked for us today.”

However, the Vulcans took advantage in the fifth when Roland walked Nitahara after a 10-pitch battle. Kaluau reached on a throwing error by Henderson, but then Abreu popped out to first base. Wong hit a soft ground ball, allowing both runners to advance. Roland was one out away, but James singled up the middle to score both runs and put Hilo on top 3-2. Henderson made another miscue when he barely touched a ball that was headed down the right field line, but Roland bailed out his first baseman by getting Cusack to fly out with the Knights only down one.

The Knights looked like they weren't going to respond, racking up two outs on only four pitches in the bottom of the fifth, but then Zach Babitt walked on four pitches. Henderson walked on five pitches. James Singzon beat out a slow roller to short, and the bases were loaded with two outs. Chris Holmes, who was technically the third catcher in the lineup with Singzon and Leite, also coaxed a walk to force in the tying run, and the game was knotted up 3-3. 

Hilo took the lead again in the sixth when Kaluau singled in Kaaukai, but Roland again limited the damage and only allowed the one run. That's when the Knights went to work in the bottom of the inning, again building an impressive two-out rally. Johnathan Robbins singled up the middle, turning the lineup over. Wade Broadstreet went inside-out on a fastball to single through the right side. Leite followed that up with a single, scoring the fleet-footed Robbins from second base and tying the game up again at 4-4.

The Vulcans went to their bullpen, but Casey Bohlmann hit Zach Babitt to put him on base again and loading the bases, bringing up Henderson again. The Knights slugger worked a 2-2 count and then lined a ball away from everyone, down into the right field corner. When the dust settled, Henderson was at third base, and all three runners had scored and the Knights had a 7-4 lead. 

"I sat back a little deeper, tried to use my hands more," said Henderson, whose five RBIs topped the previous record of four, which Henderson had reached twice in his career. "I came up in some key situations and I was just trying to find a hole."

Roland set the Vulcans down in order in the seventh, and the Knights added another run in the bottom of the inning when Robbins singled in Devin Mason, who had pinch-ran for Holmes. But the game was far from over, and the excitement seemed to pop up at every turn. Kaaukai singled to start the eighth, his second hit of the game. That brought out Guinn, who was faced with a decision with his bullpen. The skipper then moved things around, inserting Mason in right field, moving Robbins to center, and bringing in the freshman Hutchings to seal the deal.

Hilo countered with a pinch-hitter, Jordan Murai, who lined out to second base. Nitahara then struck out looking, and then Hutchings sat down another pinch-hitter, Steven Riddle, on a 3-2 fastball to end the inning with no damage done. The Knights got a couple runners on in their half, but the game went to the ninth with Academy of Art leading 8-4 and the freshman on the mound.

Abreu, who has plagued the Knights all series, singled to left to lead off the inning. Wong doubled down the right-field line to make it 8-5. But Hutchings got James to fly out before Goo singled, putting runners at the corners. Yet another pinch-hitter, Brad Fairweather, came in and walked, loading the bases and putting the tying runner at first base. That's when Hutchings stopped nibbling and went right at Kaaukai, who rapped a hard ground ball right to Henderson at first, starting a 3-6-1 double play to end the game and bring the win home for the Urban Knights.

"Closing it down is my job on the team, so I prepared myself for that," said Hutchings, who earned his first career save. "I knew there was going to be some pressure, but I knew I could trust my defense. That's my main focus. If they hit it, I trust them with every pitch I throw."

For the Knights, it was a resounding victory and one that could bear a lot more productive play in the future, as the mood postgame was noticeably upbeat and excited after a big win over a conference foe. They will play host to Cal State Stanislaus in a three-game set, starting with a game on Friday at 6:00 PM.