Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

San Rafael, CA – In its return to Pacific West Conference play after the Tournament of Champions, Academy of Art University Softball earned a split with Dominican out at McInnis Park on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Bouncing back from a 3-1 loss to the Penguins in game one, ART U got out in front early in game two and added a fourth-inning rally to stay ahead for the 6-4 victory. Freshman Elise Oldham and sophomore Haily MacDonald helped the offensive rallies while sophomore Kristin Valdivia delivered 4.0 shutout innings of relief.

Game one began with Dominican going up 1-0 in the first inning as a result of a throwing error, but things were quickly retied in the second when freshman Jessica Marin led off with the first triple of her career. She soon scored on a RBI single by senior Andrea Hanchey to knot it up at 1-1.

The Penguins, however, went back ahead 2-1 in the second inning on an RBI single from Leslie Mesa. Senior Kimberly Dauer (6-13) then settled in, keeping Dominican without a hit for the next three innings. At one point, she retired eight of nine she faced and kept her team within striking distance. Penguin starter Karly Harris (6-19) would match her opponent though, managing to keep ART U from scoring the rest of the way.

In the sixth, Dominican pushed across one more run on a pinch-hit RBI single from Ashlyn Moriarity and that 3-1 score would lead to the Penguins' victory. Dauer bounced back from a challenging first two innings and ended up going 6.0 innings with three runs allowed on four hits and six strikeouts.


ART U wasted little time breaking through in game two. The contest began with a single from MacDonald and a walk to sophomore Kamyle Glover. Later with runners on second and third, Oldham smashed her first career triple into right field, clearing the bases in the process and giving her team the advantage. The lead was then made 3-0 after freshman Shelby Gill added a RBI single.

“I was thrilled to see the fire at the start or the second game from some girls who had been role players,” co-head coach Sami Strinz said. “They got a great opportunity to start and they made the most of it. I was really pleased with how “Ice” [Elise Oldham] came in and swung it!”

In the second inning, MacDonald turned a walk into an immediate scoring threat as she promptly stole second and third. The sophomore then came home on a walk to Glover in which a double steal was attempted.

Shelby Gill (1-7), the Knights' starting pitcher, held Dominican hitless through the first two frames, but in the third, the Penguins scratched across their first run on a sacrifice fly from Mesa. In what turned out to be the decisive ART U rally, freshman Andrea Gill started the fourth with a walk and senior Nicole Smith added a single to put two on with no outs. Both would score on a single hit by MacDonald with Smith coming in thanks to another threat at a double steal.

“Haily made things happen today,” Coach Strinz said. “As a teacher, we have been far too complacent and we have all been waiting around things to transpire. Haily rose up and competed. She definitely led by example for us today. If we can get a few more players on that page, we will be tough!”

Dominican had its own response rally in the fourth thanks to three separate RBI singles which effectively forced Gill out of the game. After Valdivia entered and did nothing but get batters out, the game moved to the fifth with Academy of Art up 6-4. Valdivia and the ART U defense made sure no more runs came in the rest of the way as the sophomore ended up retiring 11 of the 13 batters she faced en route to a line of 4.0 innings pitched, no runs allowed on one hit and one walk, and three strikeouts. A split came for the Knights as the 6-4 score held up.

For Academy of Art (13-26 overall, 9-13 in PacWest), MacDonald had hits in both games, finishing the day 3-for-6 with an RBI, two runs scored, and three stolen bases. Oldham added a 2-for-3 game two that included her first career triple, two RBIs, and a run scored. In addition to her game one pitching duties, Shelby Gill also went 1-for-3 with an RBI at the plate.

Dominican's offense came primarily from the top of its batting order (first three hitters went 4-for-14 with two runs scored and four RBIs) and Marissa Cordisco (3-for-6, RBI, R). The standout starter for the Penguins (8-38 overall, 1-21 in PacWest) was Karly Harris (6-19) who finished with one run allowed on three hits and two strikeouts in 7.0 innings of her game one start.

The Urban Knights have one more road gameday this season and it takes place this Saturday at Grand Canyon in Phoenix, AZ. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12:00 PM.

“We are definitely looking forward to some competition this weekend,” Coach Strinz said. “I think we are ready to finish this season at home. It'll be nice to play in front of our own crowd.”