Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Brisbane, CA – Starting the season versus Humboldt State, the NFCA's #4 team in the country in the preseason, Academy of Art University Softball broke through against tough pitching despite falling to the Lumberjacks in a doubleheader out at Mission Blue Field. A fifth-inning rally by the Urban Knights in game one came a little too late as the Jacks took the opener 11-3, however, a two-run homer by Elise Oldham in the seventh inning of game two led a nail-biting comeback that fell just short with HSU on top 3-2.

"Humboldt State is a very good program," co-head coach Randy Ward said. "They will take advantage of all of the freebies that you give them. Unfortunately, we gave them too many freebies today. It looks promising though because we were able to do some good things against a top five nationally ranked team. We were in essence one swing away from coming out on top."

Making her first collegiate start in ART U's season opener, Carlee Emerson (0-1) handled her first three batters faced, but ran into trouble in the second inning when four walks led to the Jacks' first run of the game. HSU struck for two more in the third when a Tiffany Hollingsworth drove in one on a double and Sarah Fox added another on her single.

Trailing 3-0 though still within striking distance, the Academy of Art third inning began with Alexandra "Lexie" Hernandez reaching on an error and eventually getting to third, but a flyout ended the threat. In the fourth, Humboldt State unloaded seven runs capped by a grand slam for Alison MiKibbon.

A quiet ART U fourth and equally uneventful Jacks fifth thanks to Alexa Peters' 11-pitch effort soon brought up the Knights in the bottom of the inning. After Jasmine Dickenson took a four-pitch walk and Hernandez was hit on a 2-2 count, Kamyle Glover stepped into the box. She promptly launched a 0-2 pitch into center field and flew around the bases for a two-run triple to start a rally.

"Kamyle pretty much owns me when I pitch  to the team and when I throw batting practice," co-head coach Sami Strinz said. "Our fans got to see a glimpse of what she is capable of. She is a tough out with her speed, power, and short game."

Elyse Cordova followed that up with a RBI single up the middle and, though the scoring stopped there despite the bases becoming loaded on Lauren Stover's single, Academy of Art had denied the shutout with 10-3 now on the scoreboard. Humboldt State tacked on one more run in the seventh and the final went to the Jacks 11-3.


The second contest saw HSU score an unearned run in the first, but Jill Johnson (0-1) bounced back by striking out the final two batters of the inning. A solo homer by Hannah Williams in the third made it 2-0 Humboldt State, but Johnson continued to make progress through a dangerous Jacks lineup that hit 114 home runs last season.

Although HSU got one more in the fifth on a RBI single from Sarah Fox and ART U had just a single hit through the first five innings, the Knights did not give up. The sixth inning featured a pair of singles for Academy of Art, but it was not until the seventh that the Urban Knights made their move. The do-or-die rally began with a Taylor Thurman double to left center and was quickly followed up by Oldham's two-run blast over the left field fence.

"Ice is such a strong young lady," Coach Strinz said. "She is so much fun to watch when she swings with confidence. Ice and Tay came through big time in the bottom of the seventh. We were real close to an upset."

A two-out walk to Hernandez came a batter later, but a final strikeout ended the comeback and allowed Humboldt State to escape with the 3-2 victory.

On the day, Glover went 2-for-5 with the triple and two runs batted in while Oldham also had a pair of RBIs with her 2-for-7 afternoon that included the home run. Emerson and Peters split game one almost evenly, throwing 3.1 innings and 3.2 innings respectively while Johnson delivered a complete 7.0 innings of game two with two earned runs allowed on nine hits and four strikeouts.

"Jill did a good job of keeping us in the game," Coach Strinz said. "She only gave up three runs to a really powerful team. The more our hitters got to see their pitcher, the better we got."

For Humboldt, McKibbon was 1-for-6, but her one hit was the grand slam while Williams' only hit of a 1-for-5 day was a solo homer. Katie Obbema (2-0) won the opener with a complete 7.0 innings that included three runs allowed on six hits with three strikeouts. Madison Williams (2-0) picked up the game two victory with two runs allowed on five hits over 7.0 innings and two strikeouts.

Academy of Art returns to Mission Blue Field this Sunday morning for a 10:00 AM start to a doubleheader versus Saint Martin's.

"Saint Martin's is another team who went post season last year," Coach Ward. "If we can minimize our free bases and free runs, then I like our chances against them."