Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

St. George, UT – Although Dixie State showed its offensive firepower in the series opener, an unfazed ART U Softball team came right back in game two and challenged one of the best in the PacWest Conference on Monday out at Karl Brooks Field. The Red Storm took an abbreviated game one by a score of 16-0 and, while the home team appeared poised to roll after going up 5-0 in the second contest, the Urban Knights pushed back to tie it 6-6 before Dixie managed to pull off a 9-6 victory.

Using a pair of home runs including a three-run shot by Johnna Brown, Dixie State quickly took a 4-0 lead after the first inning. Another Red Storm homer came in a two-run second and the advantage after three frames was 9-0.

Freshman Jessica Marin offered her third double of the year in the third to set up a scoring chance but Dixie starter Michelle Duncan (10-2) got out of it by inducing a pair of groundouts. Ultimately, the Red Storm added seven more in the innings that followed and went on to win in a shortened opener 16-0.


Dixie State would strike first in the second game as well. Getting ahead 4-0 thanks to a first inning rally started by RBI single from Brown, the Red Storm seemed to be in control as the third inning began. However, the top of the ART U batting order would not be denied as sophomore Haily MacDonald started a one-out rally with her triple to right center.

Junior Elyse Cordova would follow with a double to left center which drove in MacDonald and set her up in scoring position for junior Lauren Stover. The 5-4 Las Vegas, NV native got the hit her team needed and so much more as she crushed a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left center. That three-run homer suddenly made it a 4-3 game though the Knights were far from finished.

After taking a 5-3 lead with a run in the third, Academy of Art had three singles early in the fourth. Sophomore Taylor Thurman, Marin, and senior Julie Martin loaded up the bases and it was back to a one-run affair after Thurman scored on a passed ball. When Dixie State starter Mattie Snow (8-4) walked MacDonald to have three aboard once more, the Red Storm made a call to their bullpen and Kate Coffey (3-2).

ART U did not relent. Cordova knocked a base hit through the left side to score Marin and then Stover again delivered an RBI on a groundout to tie things up 6-6. Senior Andrea Hanchey walked to load the bases for a third time in the inning, but that is where the rally would conclude.

Dixie State responded to the Knights' surge in the bottom half of the fourth when Brown hit her second home run of the afternoon, a solo shot, to put her team back in front. Though ART U put a runner on in each of the final two frames, the Red Storm managed to come out unscathed and tacked on two runs in the fifth to wind up winning 9-6.

"Stover's home run was a boost for us as well as Cordova's hits with runners on," co-head Randy Ward said. "That put us in a good position to take game two, but our pitching and defense didn't hold up for that to happen."

Academy of Art University (9-14, 7-7 PacWest) had a strong game two performance from Stover. Though her season-best 13-game hit streak came to an end in game one, the junior quickly bounced back with a 2-for-3 nightcap that featured her second home run of the year, three RBIs, and a run scored. Cordova was 3-for-6 on the day with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. Thurman added a 2-for-3 outing in the nightcap while MacDonald notched her third triple of the year in a 1-for-3 game two.

Dixie State (21-8, 12-4 PacWest) was led by a 4-for-7 day from Brown which included two home runs, six RBIs, and three runs scored. Courtney Hine was 3-for-6 with four RBIs and two runs scored while Jaelle Judkins offered a 3-for-5 pair of games with two RBIs, three runs scored, and three steals. Duncan won the opener with a 4.0 inning shutout despite just one strikeout and Coffey picked up the relief win in game two after pitching 3.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

"To bounce back and be in game two after the bad outing in game one shows we have what it takes to compete in this league," Coach Ward said. "But we definitely have to compete every pitch of every game to pull out the wins we know we can get."

The Urban Knights return to Karl Brooks Softball Field tomorrow afternoon for another 2:00 PM PT start to the series-ending doubleheader.

"Tomorrow we need to come out clawing and fighting. That's ART U Softball," co-head coach Sami Strinz said. "We haven't been pushing and fighting the way we can. We have to dig deeper."