BRISBANE, Calif. – Out at Mission Blue Field on a cloudless Monday, Academy of Art softball bounced back from Chaminade's late momentum shift as part of a 6-1 win in the Pacific West Conference series opener by rallying in four different innings en route to a 7-1 victory in the second game of the afternoon. Junior infielder Audrey Allen and senior catcher/infielder Liberty Herrera combined for six runs batted in while sophomore pitcher/utility Kayla Vaughan (2-11) held the Silverswords to just one run on three hits.

GAME 1 – CUH 6, ART U 1
After starting with a scoreless first inning, both sides plated singular runs in the second as a Herrera double was followed by junior infielder/catcher Olivia Glover single to knot the score at 1-1. Junior pitcher Kamielle Powell (2-14) pitched around an error in the third and retired the Silverswords in order in the fourth on an efficient nine pitches.

Academy of Art threatened with a pair of singles from Allen and Vaughan in the fourth then started the sixth with a single from freshman infielder Riannah Maulupe and an Allen double, but CUH was able to dodge both. That gave way to the seventh where a two-run single came amid the visitors' five-run surge to eventually win 6-1.

GAME 2 – ART U 7, CUH 1
Similar to the series opener, both teams plated singular runs in the first inning with ART U's coming on Allen being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. With two on and two out in the second, the Urban Knights broke the deadlock on a two-run double from Allen and soon pushed the margin to 5-1 with Herrera's own two-run double in the fourth.

While Vaughan was busy limiting the Silverswords to just one hit through the final six innings, another Academy of Art rally came in the sixth with both Herrera and graduate student outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki singling in runs. Vaughan needed just four pitches to finish off the 7-1 win in the seventh, closing with just one run allowed on three hits and four walks plus two strikeouts in 7.0 innings for her eighth complete game of the year.

Now 4-25 overall and 3-13 in conference play, Academy of Art saw Allen and Herrera both double in each contest as part of the former's 3-for-5 day with three runs batted in and the latter's 3-for-7 afternoon also with three driven in. Glover ended with one RBI during a 3-for-5 doubleheader and Maulupe went 2-for-3 in the first game then walked in the second to push her reached base streak to 18 straight.

Chaminade moves to 5-33 on the year and 4-19 in PacWest action with the day's split. Miranda Diaz led the way in the series opener with two driven in as part of a 1-for-4 effort then Vanessa Peña (1-6) added a 2-for-3 effort in the second contest after winning the first game behind one run allowed on nine hits and two strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work. Ava Walker was dealt the loss in the day's finale, surrendering five runs on four hits with three strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched.

The Urban Knights' series with the Silverswords wraps up tomorrow at 2 p.m. once again at Mission Blue Field.