Box Score

Las Vegas, NV – After facing an early deficit, a resilient Academy of Art University softball team fought back with a rally of their own, but New Mexico Highlands wound up with an 12-4 victory over ART U to close out the 2013 Desert Stinger. Junior Elyse Cordova delivered a memorable inside-the-park home run during the Urban Knights' surge, however, the initial margin was simply too great and the Cowgirls prevailed in five innings.

Singles by Cordova and junior Lauren Stover were followed by a two-out walk to sophomore Taylor Thurman effectively loading the bases in the first inning. However, NMHU starter Jessica Brink kept the Knights off the scoreboard with a strikeout.

In the bottom of the first, the Cowgirls were the beneficiaries of a walk, error, and hit batter to set up what would then be a grand slam by Shelby Watts. Later in the inning, Tess Oliphant added a three-run homer and, just like that, New Mexico Highlands held a 7-0 lead. Sophomore Kristin Valdivia came in mid-inning and recorded two critical outs, one a strikeout, to keep the margin at seven.

Sophomore Kamyle Glover led off the second with a single in what would be an important response inning for Academy of Art. After an illegal pitch got Glover to second, freshman Jessica Marin was walked and then a ball hit by senior Julie Martin was misplayed by the pitcher to allow Glover to cross home plate. Four pitches later, Cordova went after the first pitch she saw and turned on the jets to not only clear the bases, but also score herself on a home run of the inside-the-park variety. The junior's third career homer made it now just 7-4 NMHU.

"We could have easily rolled over after they put a seven spot up on us the first inning, but we are a group of fighters," co-head coach Sami Strinz said. "Obviously, we came up on the short end of the stick today, but as long as we fight, we give ourselves a chance to be successful."

The third inning saw the Cowgirls once again capitalize on defensive miscues by the Knights as three errors led to four runs and suddenly the difference was far greater than before. New Mexico Highlands got through a pair of two-out hits from Cordova and sophomore Haily MacDonald then added one more run in the fourth to give them the necessary eight-run margin for a shortened game. The final score had NMHU winning it 12-4.

Cordova had an incredible day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs which all came on her first home run of the season. She began what has now become a five-game hitting streak in game one of the Desert Stinger, heating up to a .310 clip.

"Elyse had a great game going 3-for-3 and hitting a three-runner!" Coach Strinz said. "That young lady was definitely on a mission today. It didn't really matter who she faced on the pitching rubber today. E would have won against anyone."

MacDonald and Glover each went 1-for-3 with a run scored while Martin had an RBI and scored a run herself. ART U finishes up this year's Desert Stinger with a 2-3 record and is now 2-7 overall on the season.

"We learned from this weekend that we can win," co-head coach Randy Ward said. "We also learned that we have what it takes to come back and win as well as get a lead and keep it. We now know we have a say in the outcome of the game. We did things this weekend that won games and we did things that lost games. This team is capable of great things, they just need to believe it every pitch."

With the Desert Stinger now complete, Academy of Art turns its attention to Pacific West Conference play and UH Hilo. The Vulcans will travel to the Bay Area for a four-game series at Mission Blue Field, ART U Softball's first homestand of the year, this Friday and Saturday (Mar. 15-16).