GAME ONE
Academy of Art broke a scoreless tie in the second inning with a two-run single from junior outfielder Hallie Curtis, but the lead was halved 2-1 in the bottom half. Small ball then bore fruit for ART U in the third when a sacrifice bunt and two singles set up sophomore Brenna Mitchell for a run-scoring single of her own and a 3-1 advantage.

Holy Names came back to tie the contest 3-3 with a two run homer from Sharona Mataele in the fourth and, though the Hawks loaded the bases in the fifth, junior Hunter Allen (1-2) entered in relief and got the outs the Knights needed to preserve the tie.

In the sixth, Curtis worked an eight-pitch walk which was followed by a Tabalada double to give Academy of Art the lead once again. Freshman infielder Juliana Lopez then added an insurance run with her single down the line and it was up to Allen and the ART U defense to keep the visitors ahead 5-3. Allen faced four batters in the seventh, striking out the side and finishing with her first win as an Urban Knight after pitching three scoreless innings with just a single hit allowed.

GAME TWO
The 20-minute break in between games did not slow down the Academy of Art offense as nine runs crossed home plate in the first inning of the day's finale. Bases loaded walks to sophomore infielder Samantha Klune and freshman catcher Taylor Ah Mook Sang as well as a hit by pitch RBI for Lopez all came before senior outfielder Andrea Gill's RBI single and freshman infielder Brenna Youngquist's RBI double for the 9-0 lead.

The Hawks took one back in their half of the first and another in the second, but those were negated by the Knights' three-run rally in the third where Gill doubled home one and Mitchell crushed her third home run of the season, a two-run blast, to make it 12-2.

Though another HNU run was plated in the third, ART U used back-to-back doubles from Tablada and Lopez to keep the pressure on and eventually run-rule Holy Names by the 13-3 final in five innings. Freshman True Park (1-0) picked up her first collegiate win after throwing 3.0 innings with three runs allowed.

As a team, Academy of Art is 6-9-1 and 2-0 in the PacWest Conference for second in the standings. Mitchell's 4-for-6 day featured three runs batted in, two scored, and her home run was her second in a span of nine at-bats over the past two weeks. Gill was 3-for-4 with two driven in in game two and Lopez maintained her seven-game hit streak as well as her 12-game reached base streak with a 3-for-6 doubleheader that included three RBIs. Curtis finished with three RBIs on the day and scored three times, Youngquist was 4-for-8 with a double and a RBI, and Tablada doubled in each game while driving in one.

"Hitting can be contagious and we are seeing some big performances by Brenna Mitchell and Brenna Youngquist as well as some consistency from Juliana Lopez, Andrea Gill and others which keeps the hitting on fire," said Garnett. "We are also keeping our approaches disciplined, but aggressive which has increased the quality of our at bats."

Holy Names falls to 4-10-1 overall and 0-2 in PacWest play. Sharona Mataele highlighted the day offensively, going 3-for-6 with the home run and three RBIs.

Academy of Art will now have 10 days off from competition before hosting Azusa Pacific on Mar. 9 for its second PacWest doubleheader beginning at noon out at Mission Blue Field.

"Our focus will be three fold [during this break]," said Garnett. "First, academics become priority with midterms coming up the week of our Hawaii trip. We have to get the majority of our school work done before we leave. Second, we have to prepare mentally for the distractions and enjoyment of Hawaii by having a good plan. Third, we have to continue to develop our leaders and work on our mental and physical game. Today was great for our confidence, we just have to maintain consistency."