Box Score Game 1
Box Score Game 2
Belmont, CA – The Academy of Art University's softball team faced conference members Notre Dame de Namur in a double-header on Wednesday afternoon. The Knights looked more like themselves as they came out ready for the competition. It was a complete team effort for ART U on the day as they had solid pitching, strong defense, and as usual clutch hitting. The Knights battled hard and came away with a sweep over the Argonauts winning game one 2-1, and game two 10-2.
Game one began as a pitching duel. Both team's pitchers were doing very well at keeping their opponents bats quiet for most of the game. The Urban Knights were putting runners on base but were unsuccessful at bringing any of their runners in. Finally in the top of the sixth inning, ART U finally got something going offensively.
Senior Alana Aweau singled to start the inning, and was immediately sacrificed over to second. She then reached third of a throwing error by the short stop. Junior Genna Allen followed with a double that scored Aweau to give the Knights the lead. However, the Argos answered right back with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. But ART U seemed in control of things, and eager for the win.
In the top of the seventh the Urban Knights stuck again. This time it was junior Melissa Coe to come through for her team. Coe reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on the same play. After moving to third on a few plays later, Coe scored on freshman Elyse Cordova's single. That run gave the Knights a one run lead heading into the bottom half of the final inning. ART U's pitching continued to stand out, and combined with solid defense, the Knights were able to hold on for the win in the game. They defeated the Argos with a final score of 2-1.
"Our offense has been there all season but today we ran the bases better and got the runners in," said Head Coach Rachel Sherman. "Defensively we did a much better job with being aggressive and wanting to field everything. It was great to see it all come together in the game today."
Junior Sierrah Garcia pitched a great game for the Urban Knights. She went all seven innings pitched allowing just three hits, one earned run, and posted eight strikeouts. Garcia received the win in the game bringing her record to 11-8.
All of the ART U batters had a big part in the win as all but two recorded a hit in the game. The team was led by Coe who went 2-3 with one run scored, and Cordova who went 2-3 with a stolen base and one run batted in. Aweau also had a good game going 2-4 with one run.
For the Argos, Emily Castro led going 1-1 with an RBI, Danielle Gray went 1-2, and Kayla Anderson did well going 1-3 with one run scored. Sammy McConvey received the loss going all seven innings allowing 10 hits, two runs, and recorded five strikeouts.
The Urban Knights scored two runs on 10 hits, had one error, and left seven runners on base.
Things were completely different in game two. Acting as the visiting team per PacWest conference rules, NDNU got things going first by scoring in the top of the first inning. But the Urban Knights immediately fought back and scored twice in the bottom of the inning after a two run single by sophomore Andrea Hanchey. And the Knights didn't stop there.
ART U scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take a four run lead. The Argos threatened by scoring once more in the top of the fourth, but that would be all they would be able to earn against the solid ART U pitching and defense. After the Knights scored again in the bottom of the fourth, they took control of the game. They tacked on two more runs in the fifth, and two more in the sixth to end the game due to the eight run mercy rule. The Knights came away with the victory by a final score of 10-2.
The Knights were led by senior Alana Aweau who had a great game going 3-4 with two runs scored. Junior Genna Allen also stood out going 2-4 with a triple, a double, two runs, and three RBI. Sophomore Alyssa Hickey did well going 2-3 with one run batted in, and freshman Elyse Cordova rounded things out going 1-2 with a triple, and two runs scored. Eight out of the nine ART U batters recorded a hit in the game.
"Elyse had a very good day. She got on several ways and really kept the defense on their toes," added Sherman. "I also though Genna had some clutch at bats with runners on base to score some runs."
Sophomore Kimberly Dauer started on the mound for the Urban Knights. She went three innings allowing six hits, two earned runs, and had two strikeouts. Freshman Katie Brooks came in for relief and also went three innings allowing just one hit and posted two strikeouts. Dauer received the win in the game.
"I think the pitchers really stepped up today. Their last couple of starts had been rough, but today they really turned it around, hit thier spots and got a lot of ground balls and pop ups," exclaimed Coach Rachel Sherman. "More importantly I thought Sierrah threw a very good game in game one, and Kim and Kaite did a good job in game two with working together to throw off NDNU's offense."
For NDNU, Robin Araujo went 1-3 with a home run, one run, and one RBI, Meggan Craviotto also went 1-3 with a double, and one run scored, and Mary Ortega led going 2-3 with a double and one run batted in. Receiving the loss was Hillary Ruddick who went 3.1 innings pitched allowing seven hits, six runs, and had one strikeout.
The Urban Knights scored 10 runs on 12 hits, had no errors, and left six runners on base.
After the sweep, the Academy of Art University's record improves to 22-14 overall, and 11-5 in conference, while Notre Dame de Namur University's record falls to 16-23 overall, and 5-9 in conference. The two teams play again in a double-header on Friday, April 15th. Game times are set for 3:00 and 5:00 pm at Mission Blue Field.
