Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Waipahu, HI -- The defensive side of the Academy of Art University baseball team had been getting better, but in their finale at Hawaii Pacific, mistakes cost them dearly as they dropped the doubleheader and the series to the Sea Warriors. The Urban Knights fell 17-4 in the opening game and 17-6 in the nightcap, with a lot of those runs being of the unearned variety, something that they'll have to lock down before the last upcoming homestand of the year.

Freshman Nick Boyett got the call in the first game and was put into a bad spot right away in the bottom of the first. An error with one out in the inning ended up leading to a run that put HPU up 1-0. They would manufacture another in the second, with two hits, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly, and they were up 2-0. ART U got one back in the third after Lyle "Kalani" Brackenridge walked and stole second. Stefen Henderson also drew a walk, and a couple batters later Myles Babitt singled to center to drive in a run.

The fourth was where the mistakes really hurt the Knights, however. Jace Poole led off by reaching on an error by the shortstop, but Boyett got an out after that. Wilson Tamaru then singled, and Derek Nakasato singled after that to score a run that made it 3-1. That was only the beginning, as when the inning was finally over, the Sea Warriors had batted around, getting seven hits, forcing two errors, and scoring eight runs to make it 10-1.

ART U got three runs back after that, as Brackenridge got on again, followed by Henderson with a walk and Ryan Ramirez with an RBI double. Ramirez would score on an RBI groundout from Dante Redhead, and the Knights had cut it to 10-4. HPU would get two of those back in their half of the fifth to make it 12-4, and would eventually add on five more in the eighth inning off of Kai Fink, highlighted by a 3-run homer by Keanu Kapana to get to the final score.

For the Knights, Boyett (2-8) allowed 10 runs, but only three were earned. Brackenridge was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks, while Ramirez had a hit, a walk, a run scored, and two RBIs. Tyler Tokunaga, Marvin Campbell, and Poole all were 3-for-5 for HPU, while Michael Murray (5-2) picked up the win. 


The second game, started by Wade Broadstreet, had the Knights getting in front first again. This time they flipped the script, as Redhead used an error to reach. Babitt sacrificed him over to second, and a grounder to the right side got him to third. Jeremy Williams eventually singled him in with a hit to right, and the Knights got a 1-0 lead.

HPU would get that run back and more in the bottom of the inning when Jace Poole reached on an error that scored a run. Jordan Inamasu added a sacrifice fly in the inning, and the Sea Warriors had the lead right back. They would add five more in the third inning on three hits and two errors, and it was a 7-1 game.

Academy of Art got one of those back in the fourth on Stefen Henderson's second triple of the doubleheader and third of the year to lead off the inning. Ryan Ramirez followed that with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2. But HPU kept adding on, scoring six runs on six hits in the fourth, the big hit being a 2-RBI triple from Codey Ellenwood. They pushed the envelope even further in the sixth, getting four runs on four hits off of Ryan Donahoe, including a bases-loaded triple from Marvin Campbell.

The Knights refused to go down without a fight, as Brackenridge drew a walk with two outs. He went to second on a wild pitch, and then Henderson hit a homer to left, giving him three legs of the cycle on the day. But Ramirez struck out to end the game, and the Knights fell 17-6. Henderson was 3-for-4, getting a singles, a triple, and a home run and driving in four. Brackenridge was 1-for-3 with two runs scored for ART U. Cambell, Poole, and Inamasu each had three RBIs for Hawaii Pacific, while Cory Yuh (3-2) picked up the win.

Academy of Art will turn it right back around for a non-conference series against Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday and Sunday.