TURLOCK, Calif. – In her first appearance at the Tournament of Champions since being named the event's Batting Champion in 2019, senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson continued to wield an impressive bat for Academy of Art softball on Saturday at Pedretti Park. Though Simon Fraser took the opening contest 7-1 and Western Oregon rallied late for a 5-4 come-from-behind win under the lights, Henderson connected for her 22nd career home run, tying the program record.

GAME 1 – SFU 7, ART U 1
 A pair of singles yielded one run for Simon Fraser in the first frame and, though a double by sophomore infielder Haley Randall and a single by freshman utility Elle Edeker soon loaded the bases, a ground ball spelled the end of the opportunity.

Three hits including a two-run triple led to three more scores for Simon Fraser in the second, but the game would remain close as junior outfielder Bethany Mitchell started the third with a double and scored ART U's first run on an ensuing error.

The 4-1 margin remained through the fourth and fifth innings as junior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (1-8) retired all six in order as part of her nine straight sat down. A mistake in the sixth resulted in a home run before another long ball in the seventh set up the 7-1 final score.

GAME 2 – WOU 5, ART U 4
Randall began the game with a single up the middle and soon both she and Henderson were in scoring position for senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen who singled one home before the next came in on an error caused by Rasmussen's stolen base.

Though sophomore pitcher Jolene Rhoades (4-14) was able to keep Western Oregon off the scoreboard in the first two innings, a leadoff single followed by a walk set the table for the Wolves in the third as both came home one batter later. Academy of Art had at least one runner in scoring position in the fourth, fifth, and sixth, but those would remain stranded as Rhoades and the ART U defense worked to retire eight of nine to keep the game tied at 2-2 as the seventh inning began.

Similarly to the first game of the Tournament of Champions when she launched a two-run shot in extra innings, Henderson's record-tying two-run blast elevated the Urban Knights to a 4-2 lead with two outs in the top of the seventh, putting pressure on WOU in the bottom half. There the Wolves would proceed to rally with an error followed by a pair of hits before two walks sandwiched another single, resulting in the 5-4 final.

With its four-game win streak coming to an end, Academy of Art shifts to 6-30 overall. Mitchell finished the first contest 2-for-3 with double and a run scored while Rasmussen finished the second game 2-for-3 with one RBI. Randall extended her hit streak to 12 games after going a combined 4-for-8 her sixth double of the year and a run scored. Henderson is now locked with record-holder and former 2019 teammate Brenna Youngquist at 22 career home runs. 

Becoming 12-14 overall with the win to start the day, Simon Fraser got a 3-for-4, three-RBI effort from Hanna Finkelstein who homered, stole a base, and scored twice while Shaneika Hollingworth picked up the win with one unearned run allowed on seven hits and four strikeouts in 7.0 innings. Western Oregon, who was led by Kirah McGlothan's two RBIs, moves to 19-18 overall with the victory.

ART U will conclude the Tournament of Champions tomorrow with an 11:30 a.m. matchup against Western Washington at Warrior Softball Field.