HONOLULU -- Academy of Art dominated the later innings of Monday night's series finale to comeback from a 7-2 deficit in the fifth inning and emerge victorious with an 8-7 win against Hawaii Pacific. ART U scored three runs in the sixth and eighth innings while shutting out the Sharks from the fifth on.Three Urban Knights collected multiple hits and junior pitcher Galen Manhard notched his conference leading fifth save.  

"Tonight was a total team effort," said head coach Dan McDermott. "We are very proud of how the boys fought through adversity this series. Dawson, Gamboa, and Smith are all out with injuries while Carlin, Rios, and Gardiner are pretty beat up too."

HPU went out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a single through the left side, but the lead was short lived. After belting a triple down the left field line in the first, junior outfielder Thomas Delgadillo walked in the fourth and stole second. Senior catcher Zak May drove him in on a single through the left side for his team leading 17th run batted in of the season. Sophomore utility Noah Daubin was up next and drove a double to the right center gap, scoring May and giving the Urban Knights a 2-1 lead.

HPU retaliated with a five run sixth to take a four run lead. The Sharks added a run in the fifth, but Academy of Art came back and put up a crooked number in the sixth. It started with a junior shortstop Justin Summers double down the right field line. Senior utility Donnie Gardiner drove him in on a single up the middle. A May walk and a Daubin hit by pitch loaded the bases for junior outfielder Alex Golembiewski who shot a ground ball in the six hole to score two runs and cut HPU's lead to two, down 5-7. The Urban Knights reclaimed the lead with a three run eighth starting with an RBI walk by senior utility Caden Spilsbury that was followed up with a Summers line drive single to score two, all with two outs.

With an 8-7 lead ART U called upon closer Manhard in the eighth. After a leadoff double, Manhard retired the next six batters in order, including three strikeouts to earn his conference leading fifth save of the season and propel the Urban Knights to an 8-7 victory. Gardiner earned his first win of the season after throwing a solid 3.2 innings while allowing only a single run and three strikeouts.

"Gardiner and Manhard did a great job of shutting down the tail end of the game, while Delgadillo, Summers, May, and Golembiewski provided the offensive production we have been seeking," commented McDermott. "We are looking forward to a couple of days of practice and some healing time before we start our series on Thursday against a very good Hilo team."

Following the win against Hawaii Pacific, Academy of Art improves to 12-10 overall and 4-7 in conference. The Urban Knights will continue their island tour with a series against UH Hilo starting March 28 at 6 p.m. HT.