Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Brisbane, CA – Facing Notre Dame de Namur for the second time in four days, Academy of Art University used the momentum of a Jasmine Dickenson two-run walk off homer in game one to then score early and often in the second contest and ultimately finished off the day's sweep. Battling back from a 5-0 deficit, the Urban Knights were in an 8-8 ballgame late before Dickenson played the heroine in the bottom of the seventh for a 10-8 win and, in game two, rallies through the first three innings (five in the second) pushed ART U to its 9-1 victory via mercy rule.

A rough start to game one saw NDNU plate five runs (three unearned) in the first two innings on a combination of singles and errors, but the bottom of the third signaled a breakthrough for Academy of Art. After singles by Lauren Stover and Haily MacDonald, Alexandra "Lexie" Hernandez was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Kamyle Glover. And, on the first pitch of her at-bat, the junior smacked the ball off the top of a jumping third baseman then under the glove of the left fielder for a hit that cleared the bases entirely with Glover beating the eventual throw home.

A 5-4 NDNU lead was expanded to 6-4 in the fourth on Amanda Wallach's RBI single, but the Knights responded with a rally in the bottom of the fifth. With MacDonald on, Glover hit a single to left field which again rolled under the outfielder's glove, allowing one in. An infield error and a double play later, Elise Oldham stepped in with one on and promptly blasted her fourth home run of the year over the left field fence.

That two-run bomb gave ART U a 7-6 advantage, but it did not last long. The Argonauts scored twice in the sixth, forcing the Knights to bring in Jill Johnson, its third pitcher of the contest, in relief. Down 8-7 in the sixth, Academy of Art opened its sixth by having Hernandez take first on a hit-by-pitch and soon coming home on Elyse Cordova's RBI single.

With the game tied 8-8, Johnson shut down NDNU in order on just seven pitches in the seventh before a two-out single by Stover set the stage for a walk off. Dickenson then smashed the 1-1 offering beyond the left field fence, rounded the bases, and celebrated the 10-8 victory with her teammates at home plate.


Following a short break, Academy of Art went right back to work in game two. Johnson, the ART U starter for the second contest, ran into some trouble in the first inning, but was helped by an impressive defensive play in which Cordova rocketed the ball to Oldham at home plate for a double play. Johnson then struck out the final batter and the crisis was averted.

The bottom half of the inning started with MacDonald doubling to left then an error combined with Glover's aggressive move around first allowed her teammate to score. NDNU got what would be its only run of the game in the second inning on an error, but the 1-1 score was only briefly held as five hits prompted five runs in the second.

Stepping to the plate for her first at-bat since the walk off homer, Dickenson sent yet another out of the park, a solo shot, to untie the contest and keep her team's offense flowing. Three batters later, Glover brought one home on a bunt single then Cordova got in on the action with a RBI single as well. Those two were then plated on Taylor Thurman's double which gave her the new single-season RBI record previously held by Shampayne Clay.

The five-run second inning had Academy of Art on top 6-1 and the runs continued to come home in the third. After a single up the middle by Glover loaded the bases, Cordova spun one off her bat into shallow left near the foul line for a three-run double. Johnson provided an important shutdown inning in the fourth despite two runners on and soon the Urban Knights secured a 9-1 victory with five innings complete.

Sweeping the Argos on Tuesday brings ART U back to even (12-12) in PacWest play and 15-27 overall this season. Dickenson's two homers and three RBIs came as part of her 3-for-5 day while Cordova finished with five RBIs and a double off a 3-for-7 twinbill. MacDonald was a scoring machine at the top of the lineup, touching home five times while going 4-for-7 with a double and Oldham powered her fourth homer of the year as part of her 1-for-4 game one. Stover was also 3-for-3 with two runs scored in the opener and Glover pushed her season batting average back up to .421 on a 4-for-5 day that included two RBIs and three runs scored.

Johnson was masterful against the Argonauts, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings in the first contest to pick up the win and then adding her 10th complete game of the season in the second contest. She would allow only one unearned run on four hits in her combined 7.0 innings while striking out two.

Academy of Art continues its season-ending homestand with two more series this weekend as California Baptist (Apr. 25) and Dixie State (Apr. 26) come to Mission Blue Field for 12:00 PM doubleheaders each day.