Box Score #1
Box Score #2

Hilo, HI – Going up against the top team in the Pacific West Conference and a squad that had only lost one game all year, Academy of Art University softball used dominant pitching and defense to open its trip to the Hawaiian Islands with a pair of victories over Hawaii-Hilo Friday. Thanks to the efforts of junior Kimberly Dauer, the first game was tied 1-1 heading into the seventh inning and the Urban Knights, who won 5-1, would explode for four runs highlighted by a two-run homer from PacWest Player of the Week Ashley Lokey. Hours later, ART U closed out the second contest with a 1-0 victory after freshman Haily MacDonald threw a two-hitter and junior outfielder Julie Martin singled in the winning run in the sixth.

“For the first time in program history, we swept Hilo and the fact that they are currently in first place shows just how far our program has come not just in four years, but also since February 1st,” head coach Rachel Sherman said.

Out at UHH Softball Field on a sunny Friday afternoon, both teams had a very quiet first two innings of game one. In the third, sophomore outfielder Elyse Cordova made her way to third after a single, a bunt, and another single, but she would be caught stealing home and the game remained an even 0-0. Hawaii-Hilo wound up scoring first in the fourth when Nicole Alconcel hit a leadoff triple and came home on Aisha Sueda's RBI fielder's choice. Sueda, the PacWest's batting average leader, was held to a 0-for-2 line by Dauer (6-6) in the opener and never registered a hit throughout both sides of the doubleheader.

“Kim once again did a great job,” Coach Sherman said. “We were able to throw a variety of pitches and work to their weaknesses. Anytime you can keep a hitter off base who was hitting over .500, you know you are doing something right on the mound.”

ART U retied the score 1-1 in the fifth when Cordova knocked a one-out double and later came home on a Lokey single. As Dauer went toe-to-toe with PacWest Pitcher of the Week Amber Waracka (6-1), the squads would trade another scoreless inning in the sixth. Then the game was broken wide open by an Academy of Art rally in the seventh where junior Jayme Stewart singled, Cordova doubled, and then senior outfielder Melissa Coe brought both home on a two-run single.

However, that was not all the damage the Knights would do. Lokey came up after Coe and smacked a two-run homer over the centerfield fence to put ART U up 5-1. Then Dauer, who had started the game with three no-hit innings, finished it with three consecutive outs after a UHH pinch hit single in the seventh.

“We seem to be a late-in-the-game scoring type of team which is good and bad,” Coach Sherman said. “I'd like to see us leave fewer on base early and score more runs early, but I like how much we fight in the seventh. In game one, Lokey, Taylor Thurman, and Elyse did a great job getting multiple hits against the PacWest Pitcher of the Week and I thought all of our lefties did a good job throughout the doubleheader getting on base or moving runners.”


The scoreless innings continued in game two as pitching and defense were stellar on both sides once again. Using a double play in the first and a strikeout to end the inning, MacDonald (2-3) began gaining momentum for what would be a memorable outing for the freshman. The Urban Knights had a prime scoring opportunity in the second when singles by junior infielder Nicole Smith, Martin, and Cordova created a bases-loaded situation with one out. However, UHH's Jessica Pepin (3-2) responded by getting a groundout and a strikeout to keep the score 0-0.

After allowing a hit to start the second, MacDonald would quickly settle into her rhythm and retire the next nine Vulcans she faced. Hilo's only hits came in the first two innings and their offense, which was averaging nearly six runs per game, was effectively silenced for the remainder of the afternoon.

“Haily threw another great game,” Coach Sherman said. “Hilo has some great hitters and she did a very good job keeping the ball down and trusting her defense who had her back all game.”

The Knights would break through against Pepin in the sixth after singles by junior catcher Andrea Hanchey and senior infielder Genna Allen set the table. With runners at second and third, Martin showed patience by taking two pitches before putting the next back up the middle to score Hanchey and give ART U its eventual 1-0 winning margin as the designated home team.

“In game two, Julie came up clutch!” Coach Sherman exclaimed. “She has been fighting hard and wanting that designated player position and I think it is paying off because she is doing a very good job in the box. Everyone pulls for her when she is up so I am glad she was able to go up the middle and get that run in.”

Friday was the second consecutive gameday in which Dauer and MacDonald each showed their pitching talent with complete game victories. Dauer dropped her season ERA down to 3.40 with only one run allowed on five hits in 7.0 innings. In arguably the best pitching performance by any Urban Knight thus far in 2012, MacDonald picked up her second win of the season with a two-hit shutout of the Vulcans. She walked only a single Vulcan, struck out two, and faced only 24 batters in total. Both pitchers were benefactors of solid ART U defense as well.

Lokey and Cordova each had 3-for-4 performances in game one with Lokey adding a home run, three RBIs, and a run scored. Cordova contributed a double and two runs scored. The variety of offensive weapons also came in the form of Coe's 1-for-1, two-RBI game one and Taylor Thurman's 2-for-4 outing in that contest. Six Urban Knights had at least one hit in game two led by Martin's 2-for-3 performance which included the game-winning RBI and sophomore infielder Lauren Stover's 2-for-3 offering.

“I'm proud of our offense,” Coach Sherman said. “The 11 hits off Waracka, who was just honored by the PacWest, show how powerful we can be in the box. When we adjust, we are dangerous and I can't wait to see more of it this trip.”

For a team that came into Friday ranked first in the PacWest in pitching and second in hitting, Hawaii-Hilo saw its 11-game win streak come to an end with the losses. Waracka walked none in her game one start, but was hit hard by ART U, allowing five runs on 11 hits with just two strikeouts in her first loss of the year. In game two, Pepin surrendered just one run on eight hits, but that run ended up being the difference between a win and a loss. Offensively, Sueda went 0-for-5 with a single RBI while Brittany Spencer was the only Vulcan to have a hit in both contests.

The Urban Knights continue their lengthy trip through Hawaii by starting a two-day, four-game series with Hawaii Pacific on Sunday, Mar. 18.