HILO, Hawaii – Trailing two games to one in the series, Academy of Art baseball (8-13, 4-4 PacWest) dominated on both sides of the ball to take home a 5-1 win and garner a series split with the UH Hilo Vulcans (3-5, 3-3 PacWest).
 
The Urban Knights got to work early and often, starting with a three-run third inning. The frame got started with a pair of singles from junior infielder Michael Maleski and senior infielder Erick Luna. Next up was junior outfielder Izac Bauer who drove in both runners with his first triple of the season, a booming shot to left-center field. The Multimedia Communications major scored moments later when he took home on a wild pitch.
 
Now with a three-run lead, ART U continued to add on in the fourth. After two quick outs, Maleski reached base for the second-consecutive inning, and third time in the game, with a single to right field. Luna followed and delivered his third hit of the night, a double to left-center which allowed Maleski to score from first, giving the Urban Knights a 4-0 advantage.
 
The Vulcans scored their only run of the ballgame in the bottom of the sixth when junior left-hander Alex Fernandez allowed a leadoff runner to reach for the first time. After moving the runner to second, Hilo came through with a one-out single to cut the Knights' lead to 4-1.
 
After 6.2 innings of work of stellar work, Fernandez exited in the seventh inning with a pair or runners on base. At that point, senior lefty Jacob Green entered the game and managed to induce a groundout to erase the threat and preserve the lead.
 
ART U made it a four-run game once again with a run in the top of the ninth thanks to Bauer collecting his third run batted in of the contest. On the play, Maleski came in to score for his third time in the game. The Napa, Calif. native managed to cross the plate every time he reached base in Monday evening's contest.
 
After pitching a perfect bottom of the ninth, Green came away with his first save of the year after going 2.1 innings and allowing just one hit, no runs, and no walks.
 
Fernandez earned his first win as an Urban Knight after tossing 6.2 innings of one-run ball (earned) and only allowed three hits while striking out five and walking one. It was also his longest outing and second start this season.   
 
As a team, Academy of Art collected 11 hits including five that went for extra bases (a season-high). Luna went 3-for-5 with one run scored/batted in, Maleski tallied a pair of hits in four at-bats with three runs scored, and Bauer's big day at the plate included a 2-for-3 performance with three RBI and a run scored. Junior outfielder Jackson Murphy also joined the hit parade, hitting two doubles in three at-bats.
 
The Urban Knights will now head to the island of Oahu where they will begin a series with Hawaii Pacific on Thursday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m. HT in Honolulu.