Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Hilo, HI – Down 8-5 heading into the final inning of game one, ART U Softball unleashed an impressive clutch five-run rally against the defending Pacific West Conference champs on Thursday afternoon. The Urban Knights steadily fought back against an 8-2 UH Hilo advantage and ended up winning the opener to a lengthy Hawaii roadtrip 10-8. The Vulcans would come back with late scores, taking game two 8-4, but big hits with runners in scoring position from Elyse Cordova, Elise Oldham, and Jasmine Dickenson fueled Academy of Art University's offensive fire against one of the top teams the PacWest has to offer this season.

"Hilo won our conference last year and they are basically the same team," co-head coach Sami Strinz said. "A split puts us in a pretty good position for the rest of this trip. Of course we would always prefer the sweep, but I think we were left hungry heading into this coming Saturday."

ART U struck first in game one as Dickenson opened the day with a double and later reached third on Cordova's infield single. When Cordova made her move to steal second, her speed led to a wild throw from Hilo's catcher which allowed Dickenson to score. The lead, however, did not last long because the Vulcans came back with two of their own in the bottom half.

Starter Carlee Emerson found herself in an important spot in the second with a runner in scoring position and two outs. Although a single headed to Cordova in center, there would be a play at the plate and, for the third time this season, Cordova fired a perfect throw to Oldham at home for the inning-ending out. UH Hilo made it 3-1 in the third though a pair of ground outs induced by Emerson kept it still close.

The fourth inning saw a one-out Kamyle Glover single lead to a run for the Knights as Haily MacDonald reached on an error to get Glover home. In the bottom half, however, the Vulcans hit two home runs as part of a five-run surge to take an 8-2 lead. Alexa Peters would come in for 2.1 relief innings and allow just a single run after the first homer.

ART U's response was a steady diet of runners on base. The fifth inning featured a single by Cordova, a later a steal of third, and finally an RBI single from Glover. In the sixth, three consecutive errors resulted in two more runs for the Knights which set up an 8-5 score heading into the seventh. The final rally began with Jessica West's single and soon the bases were loaded. Though Hilo went to its bullpen, a Dickenson fielder's choice got one home then Cordova smacked a game-tying two-run double into center.

"We could tell from the beginning it was going to be a dog fight," Cordova said. "Our mentality was to push back, one at at time. So we capitalized on their mistakes and got key hits in scoring situations. We played free, it was a lot of fun!"

The winning blow was then a two-run single by Oldham and then Jill Johnson came in for her first save of the year as she retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh. Academy of Art had managed to overcome what might have seemed like an impossible task to some and wound up winning 10-8.

"The girls did a great job of staying in control and making the other pitcher work," Coach Strinz said. "They had a great grasp of the strike zone and used it to our benefit. We were able to move station to station and get the timely hits that we needed. Our energy and focus was tremendous. It was exciting to see such a team effort."


Hilo wasted little time getting back ahead in the second game with a three-run push in the bottom of the first on a homer by Emily Greene. However, Dickenson would provide the rebuttal after MacDonald's RBI single put two on with two out. Dickenson, who had one home run last year, promptly blasted her first in 2014 to immediately give her team a 4-3 lead.

That score held up for the next two innings as starter Jill Johnson began to find her groove, retiring eight consecutive batters at one point during the stretch. She ran into trouble in the fifth though when four Hilo hits begot three runs for now a 6-4 advantage to the home team. ART U's best chance came in the sixth where singles by Oldham, Glover, and Jessica West got runners in scoring position, but two ground outs ended it there. The Vulcans added two in the sixth and ended up winning 8-4.

ART U continued its high-scoring efforts in PacWest play, now averaging 8.0 runs per game. The Urban Knights sport a 4-10 overall record and are 2-2 in conference action thus far. After going 4-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs scored, two steals, and a double in the opener, Cordova added a 1-for-4 game two. Oldham also had two RBIs in her 1-for-4 game one while Dickenson was extremely productive on the day, finishing 2-for-7 with the home run, a double, four RBIs, and four runs scored.

"We are proud of Jasmine stepping up big in the leadoff spot," co-head coach Randy Ward said. 'We put her there because of her ability to get on any way possible and she did that with walks, hit by pitch, a double, and the three-run home run. Cordova's day was typical of what she can do every game. It's not normal to have a lefty slapper in the 3 spot, but she can beat you so many ways so it's was a good fit.

Peters secured her first collegiate win in the opener with 2.1 innings pitched in which she allowed one run on four hits with one walk. Johnson's first save of the year came on a clean seventh inning that included a strikeout.

UH Hilo was led by Greene who finished the day 5-for-8 with nine RBIs and two home runs. Hannah Peterson (4-4) was tagged with the game one loss after Ashley Nelson went most of the way (6.0 IP, 8 R, 7 H), but Peterson came back to pick up the complete game victory in the second contest, allowing four runs on 11 hits. The Vulcans are now 13-9 overall, 8-5 in PacWest play.

Academy of Art will open a four-game series with Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, Mar. 15 in Kaneohe, HI at Howard A. Okita Field.

"We need to do a better job of overcoming the obstacles in all the games moving forward to Hawaii Pacific," Coach Ward said. "We didn't quite overcome the big obstacles in the second game today. If we can do that and hit our way through the weekend, it will set tone for the rest of the trip."