TURLOCK, Calif. – On the first of three days at Stanislaus State's Tournament of Champions, Academy of Art softball rallied either tie or gain a lead in two games' respective seventh innings. Their opponents, however, made decisive moves to win both contests as No. 11 UC San Diego broke a tie with a game-winning double in a 6-5 opener before Central Washington scored six times to come from behind and triumph 13-9. In a truly memorable day, sophomore catcher Lauryn Henderson went 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, four runs batted in, three walks, three runs scored, and three stolen bases across the two games.

GAME 1 - #11 UCSD 6, ART U 5
The morning began with the teams exchanging three scoreless innings as sophomore pitcher Cecilia Lopez (2-3) extricated Academy of Art from three runner at third threats in each of those frames. ART U would break through in the fourth on a single leading to the first two runs batted in of freshman outfielder Bethany Mitchell's career.

UC San Diego promptly responded with a four-run rally in that same inning, stringing together five hits for a 4-2 advantage. The Tritons followed with one more run in the sixth after an error and a sacrifice fly made the ballgame 5-2 in favor of UCSD.

An eventful seventh inning began with three hits and three steals as senior utility Katie Tablada scored on an error, junior utility Dominique Seva'aetasi drove in junior infielder Gracie Sotomayor, and senior infielder Brenna Youngquist finally delivered a single to drive in the game-tying run. After forcing the bottom of the frame now in a 5-5 tie, ART U found itself one out away from going to extra innings, but a double by Keila Bosinger ultimately ended it with the Tritons on top 6-5.

"Cece did an amazing job in the first game keeping their offense off balance and unable to capitalize," said Gomez. "I think holding tough through most of the game and then ending on a walk off just shows that it went down to the end. I wasn't especially happy with the errors, but the entire coaching staff wants the girls to really see that they can compete with those top teams."

GAME 2 – CWU 13, ART U 9
Though the Wildcats struck first with a run in the opening inning, Academy of Art erupted for four runs moments later in their half of the frame. Henderson started the surge with a run-scoring single and she soon took part in a double steal that saw Seva'aetasi swipe home plate. Youngquist then drove in Henderson on a single up the middle and Sotomayor plated Tablada for a 4-1 lead.

A CWU solo homer in the third was the only run redshirt sophomore Sarah Wapner (1-0) allowed over the next three innings while ART U furthered its advantage on another RBI single from Sotomayor and an error later in the fourth. The 6-2 score repeatedly changed thereafter as one run for the Wildcats in the fifth was matched on a solo homer from Henderson.

"Lauryn absolutely came out to play today," said Gomez. "She took every situation and executed what was asked of her. It speaks volumes after she struggled at the plate last night and I think it's only a preview of what's to come from her this season."

Desperate for a comeback, Central Washington got its wish to start the sixth as two hits and an error led to four runs good enough to tie things up at 7-7. Academy of Art wasted no time breaking the deadlock in its half of the sixth with a two-run single by Henderson through the left side. Although ART U had now gone up 9-7, a six-run seventh proved to be the difference as the Wildcats initially tied the game and proceeded to tack on four more runs for a 13-9 lead. That is where the score would remain after a short bottom of the seventh and Central Washington managed to prevail.

"Offensively, I think we really opened up against CWU," said Gomez. "We came out swinging like I haven't seen in a while and it was a really powerful statement for the team to feed off of each other the way they did. I saw our hitters elevate from just trying to hit the ball to really looking at the situation and what they needed to do to help the team be successful."

Now 5-9 overall, Academy of Art was led not only by Henderson's aforementioned impressive stat line, but also multi-hit games from Tablada (2-for-4 with a stolen base), Sotomayor (3-for-7 with two RBIs and a stolen base), Mitchell (3-for-7 with two RBIs and a stolen base), and Youngquist (3-for-8 with two RBIs). At the top of the lineup, Hirsch and Seva'aetasi each stole two bases apiece while combining to go 3-for-10 with four runs scored.

No. 11 UC San Diego improved to 22-6 with the win and it was Brittney Ross-Smith who led the way with a 4-for-4 performance while Dominique Acosta (4-0) picked up the victory after getting just one out in relief before the Tritons walked off.

Central Washington rose to 19-7 following its victory and their offensive leader was Alycia Bannan who went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs. Similarly to the first game, a relief win was assigned to Samantha Stanfield (7-1) after her 1.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

ART U will split time at both Pedretti Park and the Turlock Sports Complex tomorrow as the Urban Knights start against Cal State East Bay at 9 a.m. then make a short drive to take on Concordia (Ore.) at 12:30 p.m.

"Every day is a new day and I want our team to step on the field with the confidence that they deserve," said Gomez. "We are finally catching a groove offensively and I know we can pull it together defensively as well. I just want them to stay positive and true to who they are as a team."