Box Score #1
Box Score #2

Photo Gallery (images by Aric Armon)

Brisbane, CA – Up against arguably their toughest challenge of the season in Cal Baptist on Friday, ART U softball nearly matched the Pacific West Conference's top offense in hits, though CBU ended up capturing two victories, 8-3 and 4-0. The series opener saw Academy of Art touch up the PacWest's strikeout leader for three runs on eight hits, but the Lancers capitalized on fielding miscues to pull away for the 8-3 final. Game two was a pitcher's duel early as freshman pitcher Haily MacDonald limited Cal Baptist to just five hits only she was outdone by the CBU starter's shutout in a 4-0 end result.

“I thought we were right there with them both games,” head coach Rachel Sherman said. “In game one, we adjusted well to their pitching. It's great to see us match up against the number one team and be in with them to the end.”

The Lancers' Mara Rodriguez, the second batter of the first contest, put the visitors up early with a solo homer center and Cal Baptist (40-6, 23-4 PacWest) then rallied for three in the second. Despite stepping into the box against Emma Holden (20-4), who boasted a conference-high 230 strikeouts heading into the game, Academy of Art (20-25, 14-14 PacWest) battled back to score one of its own in the second.

After two runners were in scoring position in the first, ART U had singles by Taylor Thurman and Melissa Coe come before an RBI groundout by Jayme Stewart plated Thurman in the second. It was now a 4-1 lead for Cal Baptist, but the teams would exchange a scoreless third inning before anything else. Six consecutive outs came thanks to Kimberly Dauer (11-10) and the Knights defense from the second through fourth innings, but an RBI single after a fielding error put CBU up 5-1.

Cal Baptist would go ahead 7-1 with two runs in the top of the fifth (both on a double by Andie Banuelos), however, the Knights were not planning to go quietly. Academy of Art had bunt singles from Elyse Cordova and Ashley Lokey set the table for Lauren Stover who singled to left and this time it was a Lancer error which allowed two to score. The Knights would exit the inning in a manageable 7-3 game, but CBU got one more in the sixth and Holden was able to retire six of seven in the final two innings for the 8-3 win.


Game two followed a different trajectory than the first matchup as neither team scored through a quiet first three innings. MacDonald (6-7) dueled against the Lancers' Tory Ferreira (20-2) and for the ART U freshman a nicely turned double play erased the only hit allowed through the first 13 batters she faced. Though MacDonald retired seven in a row at one point in those early stages, Ferreira would also find a groove after facing Urban Knight runners on in both the first and second innings.

The fourth inning saw a two-run triple hit by CBU's Tina Galinato to break the scoreless tie and, though Coe and Stover singled their way on in the fifth, Ferreira was able to get a strikeout to end the threat. Cal Baptist would add another run in the bottom half and then it was Galinato who produced again with a solo home run in the sixth. The Lancers would hold on through the final frame and went on to win 4-0.

MacDonald wound up surrendering just three earned runs on five hits across her 6.0 innings in the circle. She walked one and struck out one, but it was an impressive feat considering CBU came in averaging over eight runs per game. Stover finished with a pair of hits in each game to complete the day 4-for-7 with a double. Cordova went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in game one while Stewart added an RBI. Dauer's final line was four earned runs allowed in 5.0 innings of work with seven strikeouts.

“I think we did a great job in the circle today against some very good hitters,” Coach Sherman said. “I'm excited to see how we respond tomorrow now after having seen them. We know that they are beatable.”

For Cal Baptist, Lindsay Henry went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, and a run scored in game one while Galinato added contributed a 2-for-3 game two performance which included a home run, a triple, three RBIs, and a run scored. Holden won her game one start with three runs allowed on eight hits and eight strikeouts through 7.0 innings pitched. Ferreira managed a four-hit shutout in which she struck out 10.

The Lancers and Knights meet once more in tomorrow's doubleheader set to begin at 1:00 PM out at Mission Blue Field.