KANEOHE, Hawaii – Decisive rallies in the seventh inning of each game were the story on Thursday out at Howard A. Okita Field as Academy of Art University softball split a doubleheader with Hawaii Pacific. The opener featured a game-tying three-run rally in the fourth then the game-winning hit by sophomore Brenna Mitchell came in the seventh en route to a 5-3 victory. Game two went back-and-forth on five-run rallies for each team before Mitchell again came through with a game-tying single in the seventh. The finale extended into the ninth when the Sharks ended up walking off 7-6 on a single.

"Both teams played great today and I was very happy with the fight we had," said head coach Sonja Garnett.

GAME ONE
HPU struck first in the day's opening inning with a Dominique Walker solo home run.  Though Mitchell (8-5) pitched around a triple in the second, the Sharks' lead was compounded with a pair of runs in the third. The home team's 3-0 lead did not last long, however, because Academy of Art came right back with three in the fourth.

Senior catcher Elise Oldham doubled home the first run then senior outfielder Andrea Gill doubled in two more to tie it up 3-3. Despite two base-runners in the sixth, Mitchell preserved the tie heading into the seventh where she helped her own cause with a run-scoring single to center. The Knights added one more on an error and would go on to win 5-3.

GAME TWO
Scoreless into the third inning, the finale made a quick momentum shift with ART U scoring five times on a Mitchell two-run double, freshman infielder Brenna Youngquist's two-run triple, and finally an Oldham RBI single.

Hawaii Pacific scratched across one run in the third before executing their own five-run inning, the fifth, which saw the bases cleared on both Walker's three-run triple and Kayla Sanchez's two-run homer. Having come in to get the final out of that inning, junior pitcher Alexa Peters (0-4) found her rhythm to bring her team into the seventh down by just one run, 6-5.

After singles by junior outfielders Hallie Curtis and Jessica West set the table, Mitchell came through once more with a RBI double to tie things up 6-6. Peters showed tremendous resilience in the seventh and eighth, striking out each of the innings' final batters with the game on the line. In the end, though freshman infielder Juliana Lopez tripled in the ninth, Hawaii Pacific came out 7-6 winners on Nicole Viena's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.

Now 11-12-1 overall and 7-3 in conference, ART U had big days offensively from its two athletes who share the same name – Brenna. Youngquist was 4-for-7 with two RBIs and a triple while Mitchell finished 3-for-9 with four RBIs and two doubles. Lopez and Oldham were each 3-for-8 with a triple and double respectively. In the circle, Mitchell picked up the win with two earned runs allowed in 7.0 innings and six strikeouts. Peters took a tough-luck loss despite tossing 3.2 innings with no earned runs allowed and four strikeouts.

"Both Brenna and Alexa threw great games," said Garnett. "Our offense executed well with Brenna Mitchell coming up clutch for us again."

HPU becomes 10-16 on the year and 6-8 in the PacWest. Walker seemed to have the Knights' number in the twinbill, combining to go 2-for-6 with a home run and five RBIs. Kristen Caskey threw all nine innings of game two and allowed 11 hits on six runs, but earned the win nevertheless.

"Being on the road this long can be distracting and it challenges us to stay focused and rested for games," said Garnett. "The competition has been great and we are ready for our next challenge with Hilo."