WAIPAHU, Hawaii – It was quite the day of baseball between Academy of Art baseball and Hawaii Pacific on Thursday, as ART U and HPU seemingly went back-and-forth throughout the first game until the Sharks pulled out three runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 11-10 win. A pitchers' duel dominated game two but left HPU unfazed with a 3-2 victory in seven innings for the doubleheader sweep. 

Game three of the series and game one of today's set saw five different lead changes as the bats were working overtime for both teams. The Urban Knights (9-26, 3-17 PacWest) and the Sharks (17-16, 11-11 PacWest) both scraped out double-digit runs on 14 or more hits, but it was HPU with the final laugh after a trio of runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk off winners. Meanwhile, the series finale saw the two teams tied after five innings, but a Hawaii Pacific run in the home half of the sixth was the only difference they needed to swing the game in their favor. 

Five different Urban Knights would post multi-hit efforts in the opener of the doubleheader, while graduate student catcher Ryan Gamboa, senior first baseman Vincent Lontz and freshman infielder Emil Jellinek all logged a solo-hit game in game two, led by the 4-for-8 day from Lontz. Both ART U starters would go the distance and were unfortunately tagged with the loss in senior right-handers Collin Carriger and Cannon Secrist. 

GAME ONE – HPU 11, ART U 10
Scoring was fast and furious for both teams, as the Knights put up a run in each of the first three frames while Hawaii Pacific posted a three-spot in the home half of the first before adding two more in their half of the third, holding the early 5-3 edge with one-third of the game elapsed. In almost every inning Academy of Art put the leadoff man on, getting the run in the first from an RBI single by redshirt sophomore designated hitter Liam Rizzo before Gamboa doubled home a run in the bottom of the third.

While the ART U scoring would slow, the Sharks tallied one run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to establish a comfortable lead at 8-4. It was then that the Knights would rattle off six unanswered runs, starting with a pair on just one swing from senior outfielder Ty Conrad, who lifted a ball down the left field line for his first blast of the season, immediately making the game 8-6.  

Academy of Art would take the lead in the next inning during the top of the eighth, scoring three times on a pair of RBI doubles from graduate student outfielder Travis Turney and junior middle infielder Adam Inouye, the latter of which drove home a pair with his liner down the left field line, putting the Knights back on top. 

A triple from Lontz in the top of the ninth allowed for what seemed to be an important insurance run on a sacrifice fly, but the Sharks were able to rally for three runs during their final chance at back to take the 11-10 win. 

Both Turney and Lontz were 3-for-5 in the game one effort, but the difference was Turney scored two runs, drove in one and tallied a double, while Lontz did all the same except smacked a triple instead of a double (his first of the campaign). Three different Urban Knights closed out with two hits including Gamboa, Conrad and Inouye, with Conrad leading that trio thanks to his homer.

Going the distance despite taking the loss for ART U was Carriger, while reliever Max Beaulieu took the decision for the Sharks with two earned runs on three hits over 1.2 innings pitched. 

GAME TWO – HPU 3, ART U 2
Though the scoring was early in game two, with the Sharks putting one run up in each of the first two innings, it was not as often thanks to the pitchers' duel that ensued between Secrist and HPU starter Jack O'Brien. After those two early runs, Secrist would settle down and keep his side in the game, tallying five strikeouts through five innings. 

In the fourth and fifth innings the Knights would strike back, with both runs coming on solo blasts from Gamboa and junior outfielder Charles Morgan. Both jumped on the first pitch they saw, sending it over the left field fence to bring the game to even at 2-2. For Morgan it was his team-leading sixth dinger of the season, tying an ART U single-season record by becoming just the third Urban Knight to hit six home runs in a campaign, the first to do so since Zak May did so in 2019. 

However that tie would not last long, as a Shark who went from first to third on a pair of passed balls would eventually score the game-winning run for Hawaii Pacific, doing so in the bottom of the sixth leaving little time for ART U to try and answer. Though they would receive a leadoff single, the Knights went quietly in the seventh to bring an end to the shortened second game. 

Though he tossed yet another quality start, Secrist would take the loss with three earned runs on six hits over 6.0 innings pitched. Both Morgan and Gamboa were 1-for-3 with the homers, while Jellinek was a clean 1-for-1 with a walk and a sacrifice. 

The Knights finally return home the next time on the diamond, as ART U prepares to host Point Loma for a four-game series beginning on Friday, Apr. 8 at 11 a.m.