San Francisco, CA – The Academy of Art University softball team came out in full force this year for their first official season playing a complete Pacific West Conference schedule. The women were able to turn things around from a decent season last year and are now seen as a threat to their opponents. The Urban Knights team continues to grow and progress as they face new competition and new challenges. The women made a big name for themselves this season as they finished with a 29-23-1 overall record, nearly doubling their wins from last season.
The Urban Knights added several new faces to the roster for the season, but again struggled with a small roster size. Even with the limited numbers on the field, the team made up for it in heart, and left everything out on the field every game.
“I am very happy with how the season went,” said Head Coach Rachel Sherman. “I am extremely proud of the team and how hard they worked. They truly deserved all of the success we saw.”
AAU led the season off with a double header against a top Division II team, Cal State Stanislaus. The Knights’ offense opened up during those games as they were able to defeat the Warriors 11-6 in game one, and then finished in a 5-5 tie in game two as the game was called in the 6th inning due to darkness. The team was hoping to carry their early success into a tough tournament the following week.
As the Urban Knights headed to Las Vegas to compete in the Montana State Billings Tournament, they were able to take the first game against Saint Martins with a score of 4-3. However, the team would not be able to manage another victory in the tournament as they faced three nationally ranked teams. The Knights finished the tournament with a 1-4 record. Following the tournament the women returned home for a quick double header against William Jessup in which they split.
Aweau at bat against CSU Stanislaus in the season opener
The women next took two games from Menlo, and then headed to face the nationally ranked CSU Monterey Bay Otters. The Knights played well and nearly came away with a sweep, but settled for a split with their tough competitors. The Knights won the first game 1-0, before losing the second game with a score of 2-3 in eight innings.
The Knights returned home for the weekend in which they hosted their 1st Annual “Swing for a Cause Game” where they raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. AAU won three of their four games during the weekend, taking two from Patten University with scores of 9-0, and 5-3, and split with Oregon Institute of Technology 6-5, 5-6 respectively. The women would then head on a week long eight game road trip in Hawaii to start conference play. AAU was first challenged by Chaminade University where they split a four game series, winning two. The next challenge for the Urban Knights was to face Hawaii Hilo for the first time in school history. The women played well but were overpowered by the Vulcans. The Knights lost to Hilo three games to one, and were able to defeat the Vulcans in the last game of the series with a score of 2-1.
Academy of Art University then returned home where they would play Humboldt state in a double header. After losing the first game against Humboldt, the Knights would win the second game and go on a five game winning streak, sweeping BYU Hawaii. A loss to the No. 3 team in the nation at the time, Hawaii Pacific, broke the winning streak. Even though the Knights came back to split the double header with the Sea Warriors in a 3-1 win, HPU took the four game series from the Knights three games to one. The Urban Knights followed that series with yet another tough series, this time against the No.18 team in the Nation, Grand Canyon University. The Knights played some of their best ball as season, battling with GCU to the very end. They ended up splitting the four game series with the ‘Lopes, and won in dramatic fashion with a walk off grand slam in the final game of the series. “I feel we had quite a few big wins…but if I had to pick one, I would say it was Grand Canyon,” exclaimed Coach Rachel Sherman. “Our pitching was amazing all game, we played solid defense and came up clutch in the end with a walk off grand slam. We had prepared all week specifically for the GCU line up and the team bought into our game plan, made adjustments and saw it all pay off.” After one last non-conference series, the women came home to host their final homestand of the season against all PacWest teams.
The Urban Knights swept Dominican University with scores of 8-0, 5-6, 9-0, and 2-1. They also swept Notre Dame de Namur 6-5, 10-0 to continue on a six game winning streak. The winning streak was challenged as the Knights hosted Dixie State in their final games of the season. Again the women played well but came up short against the power hitting Red Storm. After Dixie swept the Knights in the first double header, the women turned things around to take one from the Red Storm with a score of 12-2 (in six innings). But the Urban Knights could not keep the momentum and fell in their final game of the season to Dixie with a score of 1-8.
All in all, the AAU softball team saw great success this season. They finished in 5th place in the PacWest and gained much deserved respect from their opponents. “I think we earned the respect of every team that saw us play this year and especially the PacWest teams. I think people are scared of us and now know that we are not a push over. They have to bring their “A” game if they hope to get a victory,” said Coach Sherman.
The team chemistry was a huge part of the team’s success as were their individual performances. While several players stood out individually, they still worked as one unit and thus the reason for their success. “They worked very hard and stayed focused through all of the adversity we faced,” added Coach Sherman. “We have amazing team chemistry which I think kept them working hard for each other and they each really wanted to see one another succeed.”
AAU newcomer junior Ashley Lokey had a tremendous season. “Lokey was our rock,” commented Coach Sherman. “Every player knew she was there and was going to be consistent and find a way to make something happen. She set the table for our line up and always puzzled our opponents.” Lokey finished with .466 batting average with 76 hits, 48 runs, 14 doubles, six home runs, and 34 walks. She also had a .675 slugging percentage and an impressive .563 on base mark. Lokey also led the team defensively with a .977 fielding percentage.
Clay playing solid defense for the Urban Knights all season
Senior
Shampayne Clay had another stand out season in her final year with the Urban Knights. She batted .371 with 59 hits, 35 runs, nine home runs, a team high 45 runs batted in, and a .591 slugging percentage. “Shampayne was the heart of our team,” exclaimed Coach Rachel Sherman. “The team just fed off her energy year round. When the oldest player on the team has that much passion for the game it is inevitable for it to rub off on the underclassman.”
Clay also had just six errors in 52 games at short stop for the Knights.
Junior Alana Aweau also helped lead the team this season with a .354 batting average including 56 hits, 25 runs, 12 doubles, a team high of 11 home runs, 101 total bases, and a .639 slugging percentage.
The Urban Knights had two aces on the mound this season with sophomore Sierrah Garcia, and freshman Kimberly Dauer. Garcia had a great season with a 19-9 record, a 2.47 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 201 innings pitched. Dauer also did well finishing with a 3.10 earned run average, a 10-14 record, two saves, and 121 strikeouts in over 153 innings pitched.
Along with those powerful numbers, the Knights also led in categories throughout the PacWest. Lokey is first in the conference in walks, and on base percentage, and second in batting average, total bases (110), and third in slugging percentage. Aweau is second in the PacWest in home runs, and fourth in total bases. Sophomore Melissa Coe is fifth in the conference in steals (21), and Clay is fourth in home runs. Ashley Lokey and Shampayne Clay were also named to the All PacWest Conference First Team, and Sierrah Garcia was named to the All PacWest Second Team.
On the mound, Sierrah Garcia led the conference in strikeouts, strikeouts looking (75), innings pitched, appearances (43), games finished (20) and games in relief (20), and was fourth in opposing batting average (.234). Kim Dauer was third in saves, fourth in strikeouts, and fifth in and innings pitched, and opposing batting average (.268).
Garcia leading on the mound with 200 strikeouts
As a team the Urban Knights batted .300, and had a 2.74 earned run average.
The Academy of Art University women will use this strong season to learn from and grow as they prepare for future seasons. They will be returning almost everyone, as they only graduated one senior. The team expects big things from themselves and can only move forward from here. Coach Sherman had this to say about the future, “We learned that we need to go into every game prepared as if every opponent is top 10 in the nation. We need to stay healthy and continue to work in the gym and be in top shape. We have everyone returning to the team so the heart of our team is still there. They have tasted success and want more of it. Now since they have been there, they are excited and even more motivated to work even harder.”