BRISBANE, Calif. – Though the Urban Knights' program-record 10-game win streak came to an end in the first contest against Chaminade on Wednesday, Academy of Art University Softball responded by capturing a game two victory thanks to more stellar defense as part of a shutout from freshman pitcher Cecilia Lopez (7-4). The opening contest turned the Silverswords' way after a three-run double in the fifth inning propelled them to a 5-3 triumph despite a late-game ART U comeback attempt. The series finale was a pitcher's duel that ended up being decided 1-0 on sophomore infielder Gracie Sotomayor's run-scoring groundout in the fifth.

GAME 1 – CUH 5, ART U 3
Much like the series-opener the day prior, the Urban Knights struck first after a clean top of the first inning from freshman pitcher Brooke Larsen (15-3), who had just been named Louisville Slugger/NFCA D2 National Pitcher of the Week less than an hour before her first pitch. After a walk to sophomore outfielder Gabi Hirsch and a sacrifice bunt, an error put runners at the corners and it was senior infielder Samantha Klune who delivered her teammate on a suicide squeeze bunt.

Larsen allowed a hit in the second, but ultimately struck out the side and appeared to be cruising. Though she struck out the first two batters of the third, the freshman would see her streak finish at 38.1 consecutive scoreless innings when two walks paired with a run-scoring single by Rainelle Matsuoka to tie the ballgame.

Academy of Art would get two runners into scoring position in the fourth, but it was Chaminade who broke the tie in the fifth on an error, a single, and finally a three-run double by Matsuoka once again to make it 4-1 Swords. The visitors added one more run in the sixth on a groundout, however, with its win streak on the line, ART U would not go quietly. The momentum of a leadoff double by Klune was continued by Sotomayor's infield single before Larsen connected for a two-run double.

That swing made it a 5-3 contest, but Chaminade got the outs it needed to exit the jam and later retired the Knights in order in the seventh to take the victory.

"Chaminade swung the bat well today," said head coach Sonja Garnett. "They made some good defensive plays, and just beat us. We struggled to execute with runners on today and that really hurt us."

GAME 2 – ART U 1, CUH 0
Both Lopez and Chaminade starter Devan Dickson (3-11) found themselves locked in a pitcher's duel after overcoming a few bumps in the early innings. Lopez gave up one single in each of her first three frames, but defense was key in exiting each of the threats. Most notably, Klune completed an impressive double play and freshman catcher Lauryn Henderson later hit Klune to catch a runner attempting to steal for the final out of the inning.

"Cece has been battling some soreness, but she came out strong today," said Garnett. "She put the ball where she wanted it and our defense made some incredible plays, including some big ones by Samantha Klune."

The fourth inning saw Lopez join Klune and junior infielder Brenna Youngquist in completing an inning-ending double play, and after a leadoff double plus two walks in the bottom half, it appeared ART U would finally break through. However, the Silverswords induced a double play of their own then got a groundout to keep game two scoreless.

Like the day's first contest, the decisive turn came in the fifth inning when Hirsch hit a leadoff single, was sacrificed to second, reached third on an error, then came home on Sotomayor's groundout. The 1-0 margin was all Lopez needed as she retired the final seven batters she faced, three on groundouts in the seventh, to earn the Knights a split on the day.

The split puts ART U now 27-12 overall and 10-6 in PacWest Conference play. Lopez threw her third shutout of the season, allowing just four hits and no walks with two strikeouts in a complete 7.0 innings pitched. Larsen moved up to second in the PacWest with three doubles in her 3-for-5 day that also included two runs batted in. Sotomayor, who had the game-winning RBI in the finale, was 2-for-6 on the day with a double as well. The NCAA Division II leader in the category, freshman infielder Jayda Alaan was hit for the 22nd time this season, putting her now five hit by pitches away from tying the program's career record.

Chaminade moves to 10-24 overall and 6-16 in conference. The game one win came in large part thanks to Matsuoka's four RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 performance and a complete game that saw Madelyn Stockslager (7-9) give up two earned runs on six hits with four walks and a strikeout. Dickson took a hard-luck loss in the second contest after surrendering one unearned run on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 6.0 innings.

After over a week off from game action, Academy of Art gets a road rematch at Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont (Notre Dame High School) on Saturday, Apr. 7. Game one is slated to begin at 11 a.m.

"We plan to have some focused practices in the next few weeks," said Garnett. "We have minor adjustments to make at the plate that will aid in our run production. I am very proud of the way these women played the last three weeks and I'm excited to get back to work on our process goals."