SAN FRANCISCO – In its second straight Tuesday matchup with a California Collegiate Athletic Association opponent, Academy of Art softball ended up dropping a doubleheader on the road at SF State. Early offense from the Gators helped them secure an 8-0 win in a five-inning opening contest before the Urban Knights fought back to tie the second game 2-2. SFSU would get the difference-making run in the bottom of the sixth, however, and walked away with a 3-2 victory.

GAME 1 – SFSU 8, ART U 0 (5)
Back-to-back three-run rallies came for SF State in the first two innings and, now facing an uphill climb, a walk to junior catcher Lauryn Henderson managed to break up the perfect game bid for Gators starter Natalie Minteer (5-5) in the fourth.

Trailing 7-0 at the start of the fifth, it was freshman infielder Haley Randall who then broke up the no-hitter, but she would be stranded at second. The bottom half of that inning saw two singles and two stolen bases as the home team pushed an 8-0 lead effectively ending the game with the run-rule triggered.

GAME 2 – SFSU 3, ART U 2
Academy of Art faced a two-run deficit moving into the fourth inning of the day's finale, but the offense would not be denied after senior infielder Gracie Sotomayor led off with a double and then reached third on Henderson's bunt single. Senior utility Dominique Seva'aetasi cashed in the run on a sacrifice fly and the game soon changed from 2-1 to 2-2 in the inning that followed.

With two outs, junior utility Alyssa Rasmussen sent a single to left then wasted no time stealing second to put herself in scoring position. On the third pitch senior outfielder Gabi Hirsch saw, she singled to center to bring the tying run home. Senior pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (1-3) got the outs she needed after facing the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, but the Gators used three straight singles in the sixth to move ahead 3-2 and eventually claim the victory.

The Urban Knights, now 1-8 overall, notched seven hits in the second contest including Hirsch's 2-for-3 day that included her first run batted in of the season. Rasmussen was 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a run scored while Sotomayor's second double of the year came as part of her 1-for-3 performance with a run scored. Balke's second complete game of the year saw her allow three runs on 11 hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.

SF State moves to 8-7 after an impressive day from Brylynn Vallejos at the top of the lineup. She finished 5-for-6 with three RBIs, three doubles, and three stolen bases. Minteer threw all 12.0 innings for the Gators, allowing two runs on eight hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in the two contests.

Remaining on the road this weekend, Academy of Art opens Pacific West Conference play with back-to-back doubleheaders at Biola this Friday (4 & 6 p.m.) and Saturday (noon & 2 p.m.).