Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Brisbane, CA – On Saturday out at Mission Blue Field, Urban Knights Softball took care of business with a doubleheader sweep of Holy Names, exacting some revenge for a pair of losses earlier this season. Game one was a true pitcher's duel as sophomore Haily MacDonald posted the fourth shutout of her career with just three hits allowed before junior Elyse Cordova gave ART U a walk-off win on her infield single. In the second inning of game two, senior Andrea Hanchey's solo home run sparked a three-run rally and, behind freshman Shelby Gill's strong pitching performance, the Knights finished off the sweep with a 5-1 result.

“Honestly, I just really liked our team's presence today,” co-head coach Sami Strinz said. “They were confident, relaxed, and just went out and played. And that's really what we want from them. We want them to go out, enjoy themselves, and just have that playground-type mentality. They did that today and it was a lot of fun to watch and be part of.”

Early in game one, a theme quickly began to form. MacDonald and the Knights defense would hold Holy Names in check while continue to threaten offensively without getting that one hit to break the tie. MacDonald retired seven of the first eight batters she faced and, whether it was MacDonald's single and steal, singles by both Hanchey and freshman Elise Oldham, or a Cordova double, ART U left runners stranded in scoring position in each of the first three innings.

Both MacDonald and HNU starter Vanessa Pulido combined for just 35 pitches through the fourth and fifth innings as they continued to match one another. MacDonald retired seven during that stretch while Pulido came back with six consecutive.

In the end, it was not until the seventh inning that the opening contest was decided. After a clean top seven, Oldham led off the bottom half with a single and was pinch run for by senior Nicole Smith. A sacrifice bunt by senior Julie Martin put Smith in scoring position and then a failed attempt to get the runner at third resulted in runners at the corners. With two outs, Cordova stepped in and, using her speed, beat out an infield single which allowed Smith to score the winning run and give ART U a 1-0 walk-off win.

“When coming up to the plate, I try to have a plan before, but I really just try to put the ball in play and use my speed to get on,” Cordova said. “I'm always confident that if I can get on, with my speed, the people behind me will get me home.”

MacDonald (4-4) was stellar in the circle for the Urban Knights. She wound up throwing a three-hit shutout without walking a single batter. It was her first complete game and first shutout of the 2013 season and came with a pair of strikeouts that she delivered late in important situations.


In her 12th start of the season, freshman Shelby Gill (2-8) helped put her team in a great position early by allowing just a single hit through the first three innings. A scoreless game quickly turned into a 3-0 ART U advantage when Hanchey blasted a solo home run over the left field fence on the very first pitch she saw. It was her second homer of the season and the eighth in her Academy of Art career.

That initiated a rally for the Urban Knights that featured a double from Oldham, a single from redshirt sophomore Jasmine Dickenson, then a dynamic suicide squeeze with senior Julie Martin picking up a run batted in on her bunt. MacDonald added a RBI single and Holy Names was forced to replace starter Nicole Ochoa (10-14) after just 1.2 innings of work.

A lengthy at-bat for junior Lauren Stover started the third and the result was a seven-pitch walk to start. Sophomore Taylor Thurman then smashed a double down the left field line to score Stover and make it 4-0 ART U on their Oakland rivals.

In the fifth, the Hawks put a pair in scoring position on singles, but their attempt was thwarted on an unconventional caught stealing. A ball got away from Hanchey behind the plate and the HNU runner broke for home only to be nabbed in a cloud of dust as Gill had come in to make the quick tag. Holy Names converted in the sixth when a bases loaded walk got them one, but that was all they would get.

One more insurance run came in for Academy of Art in the sixth when Dickenson was hit by a pitch, stole second, and later scored on Cordova's second double of the day. Shelby Gill finished off her first complete game as an Urban Knight with three more outs in the seventh and a 5-1 victory was secured by the Knights. Gill's final line was 7.0 innings pitched with one run allowed on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

“It feels really good when the team comes together and gets wins like this because we know this is what we're capable of,” Cordova said. “We like to have this fun and this excitement. It's about going out there, having fun, getting dirty, and picking each other up.”

For ART U (15-30 overall, 11-17 PacWest), Saturday was foremost about pitching and defense. MacDonald and Shelby Gill combined for only a single run allowed in 14.0 innings of work with no more than two hits allowed in any one inning they threw.

“I am really proud of the pitching performances that we had today,” Coach Strinz said. “[Haily and Shelby] both did a really good job, kept us in the ballgame, and were pretty dominant if I'm being honest. I think that our defense did a solid job behind them. We obviously didn't strike everybody out, but were not supposed to. Our defense did exactly what they're supposed to do so I think that helps us grow our confidence heading into these last four games.”

Several Urban Knights got into the offense Saturday as Hanchey was 1-for-1 with her solo home run in game two while Cordova went 4-for-8 with a pair of multi-hit games, two doubles, and two RBIs. Oldham was 3-for-6 with a run scored, Dickenson offered a 1-for-2 game two with two runs scored and a stolen base, and MacDonald was 3-for-7 with a RBI and a stolen base of her own. Thurman and Martin joined a group of five ART U players to log a RBI in game two.

Holy Names falls to 15-37 overall and 9-17 in PacWest play with Saturday's results despite a four-hit day from Allison Snider who went 4-for-8 with a double. Pulido (2-12) pitched well in the opener, but was tagged with the loss after going 6.2 innings with one run allowed on seven hits. Ochoa lasted just 1.2 innings of game two and fell as a result of three runs allowed on five hits.

Academy of Art continues its final homestand with a doubleheader against BYU-Hawaii on Monday, Apr. 22 starting at 12:00 PM.