BRISBANE, Calif. – Demonstrating its ability to score via strong pitching, timely hitting, and speed on the basepaths rather than power alone, Academy of Art softball executed a sweep of its Pacific West Conference series with Holy Names, taking both contests at Mission Blue Field on Saturday. The Urban Knights came back from behind with a five-run rally in the fourth inning before prevailing 7-3 in game one then sophomore pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (2-2) turned in her best start of the season to support ART U's 10-2 win in a five-inning series finale.

"Hitting, scoring, and stealing bases are all contagious," said Head Coach Nikki Gentile. "We had a slow start, but once we got going, we had all the pressure on them with momentum on our side."

GAME 1 – ART U 7, HNU 3
Dueling the Hawks' Haighley Kissee (1-4) with a pair of scoreless frames to start the day, senior pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (6-3) needed just nine pitches to retire Holy Names in order in the second inning. While walks in the first and third innings put Academy of Art on the verge of scoring, it was HNU who struck first with three runs, two on a homer by Lyndsey Widner in the third.

The game script dramatically shifted in the fourth, however, when ART U broke through for five runs on three hits and an error. A bases-loaded walk by junior catcher Lauryn Henderson was followed by a two-run single from freshman infielder Haley Randall to highlight the momentum change and Balke worked with the defense to provide an 11-pitch shutdown inning thereafter.

Academy of Art grew its 5-3 advantage to 7-3 in the sixth when junior utility Neenah Pangilinan singled home a pair of her teammates and, though an error began the seventh, that runner was promptly erased on a throw by junior catcher Alyssa Brundage who caught her second attempted base-stealer of the year. Balke, who calmly retired the final two batters, finished as now a winner in five of her last six starts, going 7.0 innings (her sixth complete game of 2021) with three runs allowed on five hits and one strikeout. 

GAME 2 – ART U 10, HNU 2 (5)
The first inning of the series finale saw two errors mix with two hits as a sac fly for Randall and sophomore catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman's run-scoring single highlighted a three-run rally. Though the Hawks got one back in the second, ART U's offense continued to roll in the third when graduate student infielder Chelsea Sligh was responsible for both runs, singling in one then later scoring on a wild pitch.

After getting key double plays turned behind her in the first and third innings, Arnold-Jolley was now backed by a 5-1 lead and quickly pitched around a double in the fourth. That set up yet another offensive surge as four HNU errors were exacerbated by Mittman's two-run single as four Knights came home in the fourth inning to swell the margin to 9-1.

"Both AJ and Cassie took care of business today and I'm proud of their performances," Gentile said. "AJ has a lot of spin and she provided us with all the needed pop-ups and ground balls while Cassie clutched up twice with runners on."

Arnold-Jolley struck out the first two batters she faced in the fifth, making her team one out away from ending things via the run rule, but two singles and two errors kept the game going at 9-2. Two outs into the fifth, freshman outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki soon delivered just what her team needed as she was hit by a pitch, stole second then advanced to third on an error, and promptly came home on a wild pitch to trigger the run rule and end the day with ART U 10-2 victors.

With five straight wins after today's results, Academy of Art elevates its overall record to 11-7 and its conference record to 10-6. Randall increased her hitting streak to 13 games with a 2-for-4 twinbill that included three RBIs. Henderson, who tied the program's single-game record with four walks in the first contest (matching Alana Aweau's total from Apr. 6, 2011), went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored while expanding her reached base streak to 16 games. Sligh ended the afternoon 3-for-6 with one RBI, a double, and three runs scored on swings by those behind her in the lineup as Pangilinan was 1-for-4 with two RBIs in the first contest and Mittman added a 2-for-2, three-RBI effort in the finale.

The speed of Grayhorse-Pupecki and graduate student outfielder Gabi Hirsch thrilled throughout the day. Grayhorse-Pupecki went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and stole three bases combining the games while Hirsch scored three times on the day, was 2-for-4 in game one, and notched her 63rd career stolen base to move one swipe shy of tying Haily MacDonald's program record.

Holy Names drops to 4-12 both overall and in PacWest action. Widner drove in three runs as part of her 2-for-6 day which included a homer. The game one loss went to Kissee who surrendered four runs on three hits with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings while Kelsey Volkmar (1-3), who pitched in both contests, was handed the game two loss after giving up five runs on seven hits in 2.0 innings.

The Urban Knights return to Mission Blue Field this Monday, Apr. 12 to host No. 14 Concordia for a non-conference doubleheader that will start at 10 a.m.

"Having a little win streak gives us confidence, but we know we need to show up and play our game on Monday," Gentile said.