ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- In non-conference action at Sonoma State, Academy of Art softball struck first and rallied late in the second contest, but the Seawolves stood victorious in 2-0 and 8-3 results on Tuesday.
GAME 1 - SSU 2, ART U 0
A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning put Sonoma State up to start, but the Urban Knights came right back and loaded the bases in the second. Sophomore outfielder
Bethany Mitchell's single highlighted the scoring opportunity which ended up not being converted.
Senior pitcher
Hannah Rose Balke (1-8) and the Academy of Art defense held the Seawolves scoreless over the next three frames, but a leadoff triple helped SSU add another run in the fifth and the home bullpen kept the 2-0 advantage intact through the end of the opening matchup.
GAME 2 - SSU 8, ART U 3
A pair of Urban Knights walked to begin the second game then, on the team's second consecutive bunt thereafter, freshman infielder
Haley Randall drove in the contest's first run. Sonoma State, however, put together back-to-back sacrifice flies for a 2-1 lead one inning in.
Two singles and an error pushed the SSU margin to 3-1 in the second, but the comeback opportunity for ART U materialized after three singles loaded the bases in the third. The Seawolves once again dodged the chance and tacked on two more runs to enter the sixth up 5-1.
A leadoff walk to junior outfielder
Jamie Batto and an error set the table for junior catcher
Lauryn Henderson who delivered both on her third hit of the game. SSU rebutted with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth and went on to secure the 8-3 victory.
The Urban Knights move to 1-14 overall while getting a 3-for-3 performance plus two runs batted in from Henderson in Tuesday's finale. Randall added a 2-for-3 second contest with her sixth RBI of the season. Balke ended the day with four runs allowed over 7.0 combined innings while striking out five.
Sonoma State improves to 7-8 overall following the day's results, utilizing a five-inning shutout from Teri Danenberg (3-2) in the opening contest and 2-for-3, three-RBI second game from Cameron Kirtlan.
ART U will make its home debut this Saturday, Feb. 29 when the Knights host Dominican in a noon doubleheader out at Mission Blue Field.
