BRISBANE, Calif. – On the eve of Senior Day, a fitting and memorable moment came for senior catcher/infielder Liberty Herrera as her single in the bottom of the ninth inning propelled Academy of Art softball past Concordia 3-2 to begin the season's final Pacific West Conference series. After sophomore outfielder Ari Mallari doubled in two to give ART U an early advantage in the contest, junior pitcher Kamielle Powell (3-22) and sophomore pitcher/utility Kayla Vaughan (8-15) held down the CUI offense for the dramatic finish. The day's doubleheader would end in a split after the Golden Eagles rallied in the fifth frame for a 4-0 victory.

GAME 1 – ART U 3, CUI 2 (9)  
Academy of Art wasted no time grabbing early momentum against the five-time PacWest Regular Season Champion Golden Eagles. Singles by graduate student outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki and junior infielder Audrey Allen gave way to Mallari's two-out double into the right centerfield gap as the home team swiftly went up 2-0 in the first inning. Powell proceeded to shut down Concordia in the second, striking out the side on 16 pitches.

CUI cut into the margin thanks to a sacrifice fly in the third, but the Knights' 2-1 advantage remained intact even with a bases-loaded no-out situation in the fourth that ended on an impressive double play between Allen, Herrera, and freshman infielder Riannah Maulupe. To help maintain the lead, Herrera added her second runner caught stealing in the sixth, tying her with the single-season program record she set last year.

A Golden Eagles walk to start the seventh proved costly as a single two batters later scored the tying run and soon the sides were battling in extra innings at 2-2. Though the visitors again loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, stingy ART U defense kept them off the scoreboard on a forceout at home followed by two flyballs.

Vaughan and the defense continued to keep CUI to zeroes in the eighth and ninth ahead of game-changing sequence in the bottom of the last frame. An error and two sacrifice bunts set the table for Herrera's two-strike single that bounced over the third baseman's head, bringing in the winning run for the 3-2 thrill-ride victory.

After Powell completed 6.0 innings with just one earned run allowed on four hits and four walks plus six strikeouts, Vaughan picked up the win by firing 3.0 scoreless frames with just two hits and one walk surrendered.

GAME 2 – CUI 4, ART U 0
Held to just three hits in the first four innings of the second contest by Vaughan and Powell, Concordia's offense rallied in the fifth with multiple extra-base knocks. The 3-0 margin became 4-0 in the seventh coincidentally on the same play that saw Herrera break the program's single-season caught stealing record (16), but Academy of Art would put multiple runners on with the threat of a comeback later in the inning.

Allen, who doubled for the 35th time in her career (fifth-most in ART U history) earlier in the game, connected on her second hit to start the seventh and Maulupe added a walk, but CUI was able to induce the outs it needed to win 4-0.

The Urban Knights' split to start the series puts them at 11-38 overall and 9-25 in conference action. Offensively, five different ART U competitors had hits in the first contest, led by Herrera's 1-for-4 effort that included the game-winning run batted in. Mallari was 1-for-3 with two driven in and the double while Grayhorse-Pupecki finished the opener 2-for-4 with a run scored. Allen went 2-for-3 with a double in the day's finale.

Concordia heads into its final regular season doubleheader with records of 35-14 overall and 23-11 against PacWest opponents. Kayla Rodgers led the Golden Eagles with a 3-for-8 day that included a double, a triple, a run batted in, and two runs scored. Kacie Gossett (11-3) sustained just her third loss of the year despite striking out 12 and allowing three runs on six hits with no walks in 8.1 innings of game one. Meanwhile, Jayden Nishi moved to 10-1 with no runs allowed on two hits and one walk plus six strikeouts over 7.0 innings in the second contest.

Senior Day at Mission Blue Field is on the horizon as ART U and CUI will finish their series and the season with another twin bill starting at noon after a pre-game ceremony set for 11:30 a.m.