SARATOGA, Calif. – In addition to celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community throughout Pride Day, Academy of Art softball joyously concluded its Pacific West Conference series hosting Hawaii Pacific with a 6-5 walk-off win out at West Valley College's Viking Field on Saturday. Immediately pushing a lead in game two following a 10-3 defeat in the afternoon's opener, the Urban Knights were in command until the Sharks' seventh-inning rally forced extras and, despite HPU going ahead 5-4 in the eighth, four hits capped by freshman infielder Audrey Allen's single sent ART U home with the 6-5 victory in dramatic fashion.

GAME 1 – HPU 10, ART U 3
Both sides were retired in order to start game three of the series, but after two scoreless frames, Hawaii Pacific combined six hits with two errors to score seven in the third inning. That margin lasted until the fifth when three Knights crossed home plate. The first came on a double from junior utility Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki, the second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore infielder Elle Edeker, and the third on a single by senior outfielder Bethany Mitchell.

The Sharks, however, quickly countered with their own three-run rally in the sixth, pushing a 10-3 advantage that would hold up the rest of the way.

GAME 2 – ART U 6, HPU 5 (8)
Making it now six straight doubleheaders where the second game has seen Academy of Art score multiple runs in the first inning, a three-run surge began with Mitchell reaching on an error, junior infielder Haley Randall singling, and Allen taking a walk to load the bases. Freshman catcher Alexus Sorenson proceeded to drive in a run for her second consecutive game by drawing another walk before freshman utility Roo Menard and Grayhorse-Pupecki each took turns swinging for run-scoring singles.

The second frame opened with Mitchell roping her eighth career triple to right center, rising her to second in program history, before she was cashed in on Allen's sacrifice fly. Meanwhile, through the first four innings of the contest, freshman pitcher Kamielle Powell (4-9) had held HPU to just three hits along with a zero on the scoreboard. That changed in the fifth, however, when the Sharks halved the margin on a two-run double.

From 4-2, the score became tied 4-4 in the seventh as errors and a single breathed life into Hawaii Pacific. The winning run for Academy of Art reached base in the seventh, but was left stranded, meaning that extra innings would be needed.

Facing senior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (1-12), HPU strung together a pair of singles for a 5-4 lead, but that was immediately threatened in the bottom half as Grayhorse-Pupecki led off with a triple, giving her seven in her career to move behind Mitchell for third in ART U history. A two-out single by Mitchell would retie the game at 5-5 though the Knights were not done as Randall promptly doubled and Allen sent a 1-1 pitch down the left field line under the glove of a diving fielder to end the day with a 6-5 celebration.

The day's results put the Urban Knights at 5-23 on the year and 2-10 in PacWest play. Grayhorse-Pupecki elevated her batting average above .300 with a 4-for-7 doubleheader that featured two runs batted in, two runs scored, a double, and a triple while Mitchell finished 4-for-9 with two runs batted in, three runs scored, and a triple of her own. Allen's two runs batted in in her 1-for-3 game two effort give her 14 this season to lead the team and, just ahead of her in the batting order, Randall was 2-for-5 with a run scored and a double in the series finale.

Arnold-Jolley allowed just one earned run on the day in her 3.2 innings of work, picking up the win in game two, while Powell combined to surrender just two earned runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 8.1 total innings on the day.

Hawaii Pacific once again evens its conference record at 10-10 while moving to 15-20 overall. Jewel Larson was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in, one run scored, and a triple in the opening contest then Tiari Hernandez drove in a pair, scored once, and doubled as part of a 1-for-4 effort in game two. Hailey Yoshida (6-4) earned the game one win with three runs allowed on four hits, two walks, and four strikeouts in a complete 7.0 innings before Taylor Thompson (5-11) took the loss in the series finale, giving up two runs on eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in 5.2 relief innings.

UH Hilo, the third of three PacWest Hawaii schools to visit the Bay Area, is the next opponent for Academy of Art as the teams' four-game series begins with a noon doubleheader on Monday, Mar. 27 at Mission Blue Field. With rain in the forecast for Tuesday, Mar. 28, that day's noon twin bill has been moved to Viking Field on the campus of West Valley College.