By Jake Ward
Academy of Art Baseball picked up its first Pacific West Conference victory of the year in a doubleheader split on March 10 with Hawai’i Pacific. HPU needed extra frames to take game one, 8-7, but ART U ended the day on a good note with a 7-2 win in seven innings.
Although HPU would score once on a bases-loaded walk in the first inning of the day’s second game, it was the Urban Knights who posted a crooked number, putting up a five-spot to get things started. Three of those runs came on one swing when junior catcher Austin LaBarber (Communications & Media Technologies) unloaded on the first pitch he saw and sent it over the left field fence. The first two runs of the frame were on RBI singles from sophomore catcher Ryan Gamboa (Communications & Media Technologies) and junior first baseman Vincent Lontz (Communications & Media Technologies).
A sacrifice fly from junior outfielder Noah Daubin (Communications & Media Technologies) in the second would add an insurance run, as ART U scored six unanswered before HPU responded on an RBI single through the left side in the fourth. Closing out the game with one final run was the Urban Knights, coming in the bottom of the sixth on a single from senior infielder Fabian Barcena (Communications & Media Technologies).
Appearing in relief to earn his first victory of the season was senior pitcher Jayson Summers (Communications & Media Technologies) who lasted six innings while allowing just one run on four hits with a career-high seven strikeouts.