HILO, Hawaii – A total of eight of the 13 runs scored in Saturday's Pacific West Conference softball doubleheader between Academy of Art and UH Hilo came in the final two innings of each game as the Vulcans made difference-making moves late to close the series with 7-1 and 4-1 victories over the Urban Knights at Vulcan Softball Field.

GAME 1 – HILO 7, ART U 1
Though singles by junior utility Alexis Folks and sophomore utility Marissa "Roo" Menard began the day, the contest remained scoreless until UH Hilo strung together four hits to score three runs in the third inning.

A one-out single by senior outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki plus a walk to senior infielder Katie Humphreys developed into a scoring opportunity that junior catcher Liberty Herrera converted with a single up the middle to make it a 3-1 ballgame in the sixth frame. The Vulcans, however, would counter with a four-run rally in the bottom of the inning, going on to prevail 7-1.

GAME 2 – HILO 4, ART U 1
After exchanging three scoreless frames to start the series finale, a one-hit shutout by freshman pitcher Kayla Vaughan (3-10) was broken up by a run-scoring double, but she was able to exit a subsequent bases-loaded jam by striking out the final batter.

The fifth inning started with a single by freshman outfielder Lida Wos then, after she swiped her 11th base of the year and was bunted to third, a wild play ensued in which Menard bunted her teammate home just past the tag then went all the way to third with awareness on the basepaths. Though ART U loaded the bases thereafter, the runners were left stranded and Vaughan again extricated herself from her own bases-loaded situation in the bottom part of the frame, preserving the 1-1 ballgame.

An Urban Knight reached scoring position in the sixth, however, UH Hilo managed to incredibly score three times without a hit in the home half to move back in front. Academy of Art got a single from Grayhorse-Pupecki in the seventh, but could not bring the potential tying run to the plate and dropped the 4-1 decision in the end.

Moving to 7-24 overall and 3-15 in PacWest action, ART U had Herrera finish the opening contest 1-for-1 with one run batted in and two walks while Grayhorse-Pupecki added a 2-for-3 performance. In the second game, Menard picked up her second hit of the day while adding one RBI. Vaughan ended up tossing 5.2 innings with just two earned runs allowed on four hits and eight walks plus two strikeouts.

UH Hilo, en route to improving to 18-14 this season and 12-10 in conference play, relied upon the offensive production from Lexie Tilton (4-for-7, two RBIs, one run scored) along with Tehani Seto (3-5) and her one run allowed on six hits plus four walks in 5.1 innings of game one followed by Chloe Sales (3-5) and her 2.1 scoreless relief innings to end the afternoon.

The Urban Knights will next travel to Oahu for the remainder of their trip as ART U opens a four-game series at Hawaii Pacific spanning Apr. 2-3.