AZUSA, Calif. – Sophomore pitcher
True Park (2-5) and freshman pitcher
Hannah Rose Balke (9-4) combined to allow just two runs in 14.0 innings on Thursday, but the end result was a split for Academy of Art University softball at Azusa Pacific. Game one was decided 1-0 on a run-scoring single by the Cougars in the sixth inning, Park's lone blemish, and the finale saw early offense from the Urban Knights as Balke matched her season-high with eight strikeouts en route to a 3-1 victory.
"These were great games for our defense and our pitchers had strong outings today," said head coach
Sonja Garnett. "They hit spots, were deceptive, and held a great team to two runs."
GAME 1 – APU 1, ART U 0
Locked in her fifth straight pitchers' duel, Park found herself matching zeroes with Cougars starter Carly Xepoleas (5-2) in game one. The Knights' first scoring opportunity came in the second when two singles got junior infielder
Samantha Klune to third base, but a groundout ended the chance. Although Park faced one base runner in each of her first four innings, she continued to get the outs she needed to keep the game scoreless.
Sophomore infielder
Brenna Youngquist's third hit of the opener was a one-out double in the sixth, but Azusa Pacific called upon the bullpen and Megan Mejia (6-1) for relief. Although she walked freshman utility
Dominique Seva'aetasi, Mejia did not let a ball leave the infield and set her team up for what ended up being a rally in the bottom half of the inning.
After a single and an error put Kayla Jiminez at third base, Erinn Jaramillo played heroine, driving in what would be the winning run after the Knights were retired in order in the seventh.
GAME 2 – ART U 3, APU 1
Academy of Art wasted little time touching home plate in the second game as singles by senior outfielder
Jessica West and freshman infielder
Gracie Sotomayor set the table for Klune's run-scoring single in the first inning. ART U doubled its lead to 2-0 with a Sotomayor double and sophomore utility
Juliana Lopez's single in the top of the third inning.
"Getting early runs allows our defense and pitching to play relaxed and confident," said Garnett. "We had a great day at the plate. We left more runners on than we should have, but constantly put runners in scoring position, which gave us opportunities."
The Knights pushed their lead to 3-0 in the fourth on an attempted double steal of second base and home in which freshman catcher
Ryia Grant scored. Balke retired eight of the first nine batters she faced with four strikeouts in that span and it was not until the fourth inning that two hits produced the first APU run of game two. Balke allowed just one base runner in the fifth through seventh innings to lock down the 3-1 victory for Academy of Art.
ART U moves to 12-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play. Park allowed one run on six hits in 6.0 innings with one strikeout in the first contest and Balke followed with her ninth win after one run allowed on four hits with eight strikeouts. Youngquist finished the opener 3-for-3 while Sotomayor was 4-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored in the finale. Lopez and Klune each added a run batted in apiece in game two.
Azusa Pacific ends the day 19-8 overall and 11-3 in the PacWest. Mejias picked up the win in game one after 1.2 scoreless relief innings and Kat Ung dropped to 4-3 with three runs allowed on eight hits with two strikeouts in her start. Jaramillo and Jenna Gorman were each 2-for-3 with a RBI apiece in the first and second games respectively.
Academy of Art has one more stop and four more games left in its Southern California roadtrip. Following a day off Friday, the Urban Knights begin a two-day series with Concordia in Irvine on Saturday, Mar. 18.
"Concordia is playing well right now, but we have to stay focused on our approach and adjustments," said Garnett. "We want to come out and play one pitch at a time and leave it all on the field. I am very proud of the way we have been playing and look forward to Saturday."
