BRISBANE, Calif. – The Academy of Art University Softball bats remained hot on a chilly Monday out at Mission Blue Field in the start of Pacific West Conference play. ART U registered 10 hits in the opener which was won 4-3 on a walk-off sacrifice fly hit by three-time PacWest Freshman of the Week pitcher Brooke Larsen (4-1). In the nightcap, the Urban Knights posted a season-high 13 hits and nine runs, but it was not enough for a comeback against the Penguins who snuck off with a 10-9 victory after the winning run came to the plate in the seventh inning once again.

"Our team fought hard today," said head coach Sonja Garnett. "Dominican always plays well against us and today was a tough battle. I am proud to see our team fight back each inning, regardless of the score. It's what won game one and why we were so close in game two."

GAME 1 – ART U 4, Dominican 3
Two rallies helped Academy of Art build a 3-0 lead after two innings of play with a run-scoring single from senior pitcher Brenna Mitchell (1-2) in the first then a one-run triple by sophomore utility Dominique Seva'aetasi and another run on a single by sophomore outfielder Gabi Hirsch.

Although Larsen, ART U's starter, had struck out three in the first two innings, she was stung by a fielding error which yielded Dominican's first run in the third. Shortly thereafter in the fourth, Alexis Chinchilla launched a two-run homer over the fence in left field and suddenly the game was tied.

Coming in to relieve Larsen, freshman pitcher Cecilia Lopez (2-1) was absolutely lights out. She would get the next 11 outs in order, striking out three of four at one point through the order. Meanwhile, despite getting runners to third base in both the fifth and sixth innings, the Knights remained in a 3-3 tie with the Penguins into the seventh inning.

A leadoff single by freshman infielder Jayda Alaan was followed by junior infielder Brenna Youngquist's single and Academy of Art was in business. After loading the bases two batters later, Larsen sent an 0-2 pitch deep enough into right center to bring home Youngquist for the game-winning sacrifice fly.

GAME 2 – Dominican 10, ART U 9
Similarly to the opener, the Knights struck first in the opening inning of the second contest, getting one in on an error. A miscue gave the run back in the second, however, as Dominican drove one in following a dropped foul ball.

The 1-1 tie was broken up in the third when the Penguins rallied for four runs on four hits and an error, giving them a 5-1 advantage. A Mitchell sacrifice fly in the bottom half made it 5-2 heading to the fourth, but Dominican plated two more in the fourth on a single by Dahlen Dennis. That inning would see quite a bit of scoring as Academy of Art responded with two of their own on a Seva'aetasi single plus an outfield error then Youngquist's run-scoring single.

Back in to continue her dominance, Lopez retired the first seven batters she saw across the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings while her team mounted a huge comeback in the sixth. Alaan started with a double, scored on Youngquist's single, senior infielder Samantha Klune later provided a sacrifice fly, and freshman catcher Alyssa Brundage came through with her first two runs batted in on a double to propel ART U into an 8-7 lead.

A drama-filled seventh inning then began with a single and two errors to tie the game and set the table for McKenzie Schumacher who sent a two-run single down the right field line, giving Dominican a 10-8 lead as the bottom half of the frame approached. There, Alaan blasted her first collegiate home run, a solo shot, to left before Mitchell walked and Klune reached on an error both two outs. Larsen fittingly returned in a game-deciding spot, but she could not convert on this occasion and the Penguins came away with the 10-9 win.

Academy of Art moves to 8-5 on the year and 1-1 in PacWest play with the split. Alaan finished Monday 6-for-8 with a homer, two doubles, five runs scored, a steal, and one RBI.

"Jayda was very impressive offensively today," said Garnett. "She has been working hard at practice and it certainly showed today."

Larsen had the game-winning RBI as part of a 1-for-3 game one while Seva'aetasi was 2-for-3 with a RBI and a triple in that one. Mitchell ended up going 2-for-6 with one RBI in each contest. Brundgae got her two RBIs and a double as part of a 1-for-4 game two and Youngquist was 4-for-9 on the day with two RBIs of her own. Lopez earned the victory in the first game after posting 3.2 no-hit shutout relief innings with no walks and four strikeouts, however, she would also take the game two loss despite not allowing an earned run in 3.1 more relief innings.

The Penguins exit the day 5-9 overall and 1-1 in conference. Game one was highlighted by Chinchilla's 2-for-3 performance that included a home run and two RBIs while the second contest saw Dennis go 3-for-4 with three driven in. Similarly to the Knights, the same pitcher registered both decisions for Dominican with Gaby Katafias (3-3) losing the opener despite one earned run allowed in 6.2 innings before she won game two with three earned runs allowed in 3.0 innings of relief.

ART U will briefly depart PacWest Conference play to face SF State in a doubleheader at SFSU Softball Field this Friday, Feb. 23 starting at 10 a.m.

"SF State is a good Bay Area opponent and I am glad we added the games," said Garnett. "They played us well in Vegas and we will be looking to come out strong on Friday."