OAKLAND, Calif. — Senior starting pitcher Nate Gercken delivered a performance fit for senior night Friday, throwing a one-hit, complete game shutout in the final home game of his ART U career to defeat Holy Names 2-0 in a Pacific West Conference game at Laney College.
 
Gercken (4-5) was four outs away from a no-hitter while helping the Urban Knights (6-25, 4-14 PacWest) snap an 11-game skid. He threw 7 2/3 no-hit innings before HNU's (13-21, 4-14 PacWest) Christopher Gnos ran out a groundball to shortstop with two outs in the eighth.
 
It was a record-setting night for Gerken, who set a new Academy of Art career record for complete games by going the distance for the 12th time in his career. It was his second complete game shutout of the season and third of his career, dropping his season ERA to 1.90. He also set a new single-season ART U strikeouts record with nine Ks, pushing his 2015 total to 59.
 
Academy of Art honored seven seniors in a pregame ceremony Friday playing in their final home games: Maclane Brady, Chucky Cavestany, Gercken, Nick Giotta, Daniel Skinner, James Singzon and Jordan Thomas. Cavestany scored the Knights' second run of the game in the sixth, while Brady and Singzon had one hit each.
 
Junior second baseman Cody Edmunds went 2-for-3 and drove in both ART U runs with an RBI single in the fourth inning and an RBI fielder's choice in the sixth. That would be all the support Gercken would need as he battled with Holy Names' Jayse Bannister (2-3) – who also went the distance – and mowed down the Hawks in an hour and 50 minutes. Gercken only had two walks and faced just four over the minimum.
 
Bannister also performed well in what shaped into a pitchers' duel. He struck out eight and allowed one earned run while scattering seven hits.
 
The teams complete their four-game series with a doubleheader hosted by Holy Names at noon Saturday at Laney College.