Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Belmont, CA – In two high-scoring, see-saw battles out at Notre Dame High School on Saturday afternoon, ART U Softball bounced back from a 9-8 loss to Notre Dame de Namur in the opener with a 10-8 victory in game two, led by a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning. Clutch run-scoring hits by Andrea Gill, Alexandra "Lexie" Hernandez, and Elyse Cordova (responsible for the game-winner) in that frame finished off a day that saw Academy of Art combine for 25 hits in the two contests to start Pacific West Conference play.

"We definitely went on an emotional roller coaster today by being up then behind," co-head coach Sami Strinz said. "We are really proud of how our girls scrapped and fought. This was for sure a team win with the contributions that we had from so many people. It's a deposit in our confidence bank that we fought tooth and nail for this win."

Game one began with the Urban Knights getting on the scoreboard right away. Cordova smacked a two-out single and capitalized on an error in left field to snag second base. She then came home on Taylor Thurman's single, beating out a throw to the plate. ART U's 1-0 lead would not last, however, as NDNU plated four in the bottom of the first.

The Argos got two in on a Kayla Anderson single after a walk and hit batter were moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Notre Dame got two more RBIs later in the inning and went ahead 4-1. The Knights then matched their opponent with the largest single-inning rally of the year thus far in the top of the second. It all started with the first collegiate hit for Hernandez and Jasmine Dickenson reaching on an error. Haily MacDonald smacked a RBI double to score one of her teammates and Lauren Stover then cleared the bases with a two-run single. Stover then untied a 4-4 game by taking home on a double steal despite the inning's final out being made on the same play.

ART U grew its lead to 6-4 in the third when Elise Oldham took Argos starter Jenna Bassler deep for her second home run of the season. That hit, already the Knights' seventh of the game, ended Bassler's afternoon and brought in Shelby Reali (3-4) out of the bullpen. The Academy of Art advantage did not last for long again though because NDNU responded with a five-run third highlighted by Breanna Young's two-run double.

As the Argonauts moved ahead 9-6, the teams exchanged three scoreless innings. Alexa Peters came on in relief of Jill Johnson (2-2) and denied Notre Dame a single hit in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. ART U's defense erased walks with Oldham throwing out an attempted base-stealer in the fourth then Thurman, Dickenson, and Stover combining for a double play in the fifth. The Knights would find themselves still trailing by three when the seventh inning rolled around.

A Stover single, Cordova walk, and Thurman being hit to start loaded the bases with none out. Two outs did not produce runs, but with Andrea Gill pinch hitting, a shot to right field was booted and two runs came home. Academy of Art put speed on the bases for the tying and go-ahead runs, but a strikeout preserved the 9-8 victory for NDNU.


The second contest saw another 1-0 advantage for ART U after one inning. After Cordova dropped a two-out bunt, Thurman singled, and it was Kamyle Glover's third double of the year that brought one in. Two more crossed the plate in the second when Gill led off with a double and Hernandez was hit to start things off. An important sacrifice bunt came from Dickenson to set up Stover's two-run double which gave her team a 3-0 lead.

After the Knights pushed it to 4-0 with Gill's RBI groundout in the third, Notre Dame de Namur answered back in a big way. Carlee Emerson had kept the Argos scoreless for two innings, but a grand slam by Lindsay Handy combined with an RBI single and RBI double for six runs in the bottom half. As few leads lasted Saturday, Academy of Art came right back with two in the fourth to tie the game 6-6. Both scored on Thurman's RBI single after a pair of walks and MacDonald's single had loaded the bases.

In the NDNU fourth, however, the home team pushed one more across with some small ball and an untimely fielding error, making it 7-6 for the next two innings. Johnson reappeared in the sixth and got three straight outs after following a walk to Emerson's final batter. With their final hope in the seventh, ART U delivered and did much more than simply tie it up.

Starting with a Glover single and Oldham double, Academy of Art had two in scoring position with none out, rather reminiscent of the first game.  Gill drove in the tying run on a sacrifice fly then Hernandez cashed in pinch runner Hallie Curtis on a single. With two out and the score tied 7-7, MacDonald hit a clutch double and Stover walked, loading the bases for Cordova. The senior outfielder did not disappoint and singled home a pair for the 10-7 advantage.

ART U left the bases loaded and allowed Handy's second homer of the day, a solo shot, in the bottom of the seventh, but a foul out ultimately ended it and the Knights took home their first PacWest Conference win of the season 10-8.

"I think facing the tough pitching in our previous series coming into this game defiantly prepared us for conference games today," co-head coach Randy Ward said. "We had been challenged and had some successes so today we took advantage of some mistakes and were successful at the plate. This conference will be a fight like this for every win, so we need to stay focused and not beat ourselves."

For Academy of Art, now 2-6 overall and 1-1 in PacWest play, there were 16 hits in total for the Knights in game two, the second-most since Coach Strinz and Coach Ward took over the program (seventh all-time), as well as nine in the first contest, backing 18 total runs in the twinbill. Stover was 3-for-7 on the day with four RBIs and a double while Thurman added a 4-for-6 day that included three RBIs and two runs scored. Cordova, one of six players registering a multi-hit game two, finished the matchup 4-for-7 with a double, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Building off the end of last year, she has now extended her current hitting streak to 13 games.

"We saw the ball well, made good decisions at the plate, and it paid off for 24 hits on the day," Coach Ward said. "We still stranded 16 runners, but were able to rally in both games and pull it out in the second."

MacDonald was 3-for-8 with a double in each game, an RBI, and three runs scored. Oldham had her second homer of the year and first double as part of a 3-for-8 day while Glover also went 3-for-8 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Gill was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a double, and a run scored. Hernandez added hits in both games, finishing 2-for-7 with an RBI and two runs scored while Dickenson was 2-for-3 in game two and contributed two runs scored.

In the pitcher's circle, Johnson picked up her second win of the year after bouncing back from a tough first game and going 2.0 innings of game two with only a single hit and run allowed, on the homer, while amassing four strikeouts on the day. Peters did not let six walks do more damage than the single earned run in 3.1 innings of work.

NDNU moved to 6-7 overall and an identical 1-1 in PacWest play after a big offensive day from Handy who went 3-for-4 with two home runs (one the grand slam), five RBIs, and two runs scored in the finale. Reali was the only game one pitcher not to allow an earned run, finishing with a line of two hits, three walks, and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

Academy of Art is back in action at Mission Blue Field on Sunday, Feb. 23 for non-conference action against Central Washington. The doubleheader is set to begin at 12:00 PM.

"Keys for tomorrow are to keep rolling offensively," Coach Strinz said. "Keep swing with confidence and now we need our pitching to do what they have been the past couple weeks."