SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In its first Pacific West Conference action since last March, Academy of Art softball was dealt a pair of close defeats at the hands of Dominican on Friday. One mistake proved costly in the opener as a Penguin homer in the fourth ended up being the difference in a 1-0 final. Game two saw Dominican steadily build a lead over the first five innings en route to the 4-0 victory out at Penguin Field.

GAME 1 – DU 1, ART U 0
After a scoreless first inning, Peyton Mott won an eight-pitch battle with junior pitcher Cecilia Lopez (0-1) by way of a solo home run to lead off the second. One of the Urban Knights' best scoring chances came in the third when sophomore outfielder Bethany Mitchell singled and stole second, but foul out ended the opportunity.

In the four innings she completed, Lopez allowed only the one run on five hits with one strikeout and it was senior pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (0-1) who came on to strike out five of the seven batters she faced. Despite the stinginess on the defensive end, the Penguins' one-run margin held up the rest of the way.

GAME 2 – DU 4, ART U 0
Academy of Art put two runners on in the first frame of the day's final contest only to see a Dominican single and a triple account for the first run of the contest. Balke and the ART U defense kept the Penguins off the scoreboard in the second, but Mott struck again in third when she plated a run on a double.

Trailing 3-0 in the fifth, the Knights strung together a one-out double from graduate student outfielder Gabi Hirsch and a walk to freshman infielder Haley Randall, but a hard-hit ball wound up in the first base glove to end the threat. That ART U out was one of seven straight to finish the game as Dominican walked away with a 4-0 victory.

Starting the season 0-2 both overall and in PacWest play, Academy of Art had Hirsch go 3-for-7 with a stolen base across the doubleheader while Mitchell and Sligh each had two hits in total.

Dominican, who sits at 2-0 overall and in conference after the dust settled on day one, had a productive doubleheader from Mott who finished 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs. Shelby Keltner (1-0) picked up the shutout victory with nine strikeouts in the first game while Kathryn Caravalho (1-0) earned the win in the finale with 4.2 scoreless innings to her name.

The Urban Knights and Penguins are slated to meet for another noon doubleheader tomorrow at Mission Blue Field.