TURLOCK, Calif. – Academy of Art softball found itself locked in two low-scoring battles to open the Tournament of Champions, dropping contests to Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State by identical 2-0 scores with plenty of tough defense on display.

GAME 1 –  HUM 2, ART U 0
Sophomore pitcher Kayla Vaughan (0-5) impressed early with pairs of strikeouts in each of the first two frames. Though she added another to her ledger in the third, it came at the end of a one-run rally produced on a sacrifice fly.

Subsequent singles came from freshman outfielder Danielle Shinko in the third, junior infielder Audrey Allen in the fourth, and senior utility Alexis Folks in the seventh, but the next and final score of the contest went to the Lumberjacks in the sixth where an unearned run eventually led to the 2-0 result.

GAME 2 – CHICO 2, ART U 0
As Vaughan went back into the pitcher's circle for the day's finale, she and the Urban Knights defense held a potent Chico State offense to just two hits over the first four innings including eight consecutive Wildcats retired during one stretch.

The designated visitors pushed across the game's first run on three hits in the fifth then made a similar move in the sixth to increase what would become their 2-0 winning margin.

ART U moved to 0-8 overall with the day's results which featured hits from Vaughan, Allen, Folks, and Shinko as well as just two earned runs allowed by Vaughan across her 13.0 combined innings in the circle.

Cal Poly Humboldt improved to 7-2 with the win highlighted by Alyssa Smokey (4-0) tossing a four-hit shutout with three strikeouts over 7.0 innings of work. Meanwhile, Chico State stayed undefeated through seven games as Bella Tavares (1-0) logged a no-hitter, walking two while striking out four.

Day two of the Tournament of Champions will feature slightly altered start times for Academy of Art as the Knights face Cal State Monterey Bay at 1 p.m. and Cal State San Bernardino at 3:30 p.m. in back-to-back games at Pedretti – Field 2.