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Photo Gallery (images by Austin McKeon)

Belmont, CA – Back in California for a Pacific West Conference battle with Notre Dame de Namur, Academy of Art University Softball ended up splitting the doubleheader after claiming a 6-3 game one win behind three separate rallies and solid pitching from senior Kimberly Dauer. Though freshman Jessica Marin belted a grand slam for her first collegiate home run in the opening inning of game two, NDNU would come back to steal away a 9-5 victory with steady offense on Saturday out at Notre Dame High School.

“Having twenty hits in this series was great, but the frustrating part is if we could have just had a couple more hits with runners on, we would have came out with a sweep,” co-head coach Randy Ward said.

Getting on the board right away in game one, ART U used three two-out singles to set the table. Junior Lauren Stover started it off and senior Andrea Hanchey along with sophomore Taylor Thurman followed before redshirt sophomore Jasmine Dickenson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Knights second run came in on a throw in the dirt by the NDNU third baseman making it 2-0 Academy of Art after one.

In the fourth, the Knights plated another pair after an RBI triple by sophomore Haily MacDonald cashed in senior Julie Martin and Stover then delivered an RBI single to bring MacDonald home. Now up 4-0, Dauer (5-9) and the ART U defense made sure to post an all-important shut-down inning in the fourth to preserve the margin.

Academy of Art kept the pressure on with another rally in the fifth inning when a leadoff single by Thurman and a double from Dickenson immediately put runners in scoring position. After Marin was hit to load the bases, senior Alyssa Hickey was input as a pinch-hitter and promptly smacked an RBI single to right. A walk then came to MacDonald, still with the bases loaded, to score ART U's sixth run of the contest.

The Argonauts made it interesting with a three-run rally in the final frame, but a flyout to right ended the comeback and made the final score 6-3. Although NDNU registered nine hits in game one, Dauer made sure to spread them across her 7.0 innings in the circle, effectively denying any possible rally for the Argos. She would finish her 13th start of the year with a complete game, three runs allowed, and a strikeout.

“I like to see Kim throw like a senior,” co-head coach Sami Strinz said. “She deserves to throw fearlessly and with confidence. She can be really dominant.”


The first inning of game two could not have started any better for Academy of Art. A single and a stolen base for MacDonald and walks to both Stover and Thurman set the stage for one of the best moments of Marin's young career. With two strikes on her, the freshman blasted a shot beyond the left field fence as her teammates erupted with excitement. Not many can say they hit a grand slam for their first collegiate home run, but Marin is now one of them.

“Jess has battled at the plate all year,” Coach Ward said. “Her stats don't show her toughness and this time her toughness came through with the bases loaded. Jess has stepped up and has been a wall behind the plate all season. She is a player who wants it and she has a lot of upside as a freshman.”

The 4-0 lead ART U held after its half of the first was cut to a two-run margin when a homer by Mary Ortega served as something of a rebuttal. An RBI double by Sylvia Honne in the second made it a 4-3 game and, unfortunately for the Knights, Ortega struck again in the third with a solo home run to tie things 4-4.

Notre Dame de Namur actually went on to rally for three more in that inning alone, making it 7-4 Argos heading into the fourth. Breanna Young was credited with NDNU's fourth homer of the day, a solo shot, in the fourth, but the Academy of Art bats would not yet be silenced.

A leadoff double by Hanchey later allowed her to score on an error and the scoreboard now read 8-5 in favor of the home team. The Argos tacked on one more run in the fifth and ended up winning 9-5.

ART U now sits at 10-17 overall and 8-10 in the PacWest this season. The three Urban Knights at the top of the order who each hold a piece of the team-lead in multi-hit games this year (8), each had at least one Saturday. MacDonald was 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a triple in game one then followed with a 3-for-3 game two. Stover was 2-for- 5 with a RBI and run scored in the opener while Cordova was 2-for- 4 in the second contest.

Hanchey and Thurman combined to go 6-for-8 to start after each posted a three-hit game one. Hickey upped her batting average beyond .300 with her fourth successful pinch-hit appearance, going 1-for-1 with the RBI single in game one. Marin had two hits on the day with her second being the grand slam to give her four RBIs and a run scored.

Notre Dame de Namur moves to 16-11 overall while 10-6 in the PacWest this year. While Honne had the best pair of games Saturday (4-for-7, 2 RBI, R, SB), it was Ortega who finished with the Argos' top game two performance, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Sammy McConvey (7-5) picked up the loss in the opener after allowing six runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. Hillary Ruddick won game two with five runs allowed on eight hits in a complete 7.0 innings pitched.

“Our focus is to win as many games as possible this second half of the season,” Coach Strinz said. “We are just trying to own our own performances.”

Academy of Art will next play a non-conference doubleheader at Cal State East Bay in Hayward this Wednesday at 12:00 PM.