SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Academy of Art softball bats continued to scorch Thursday as the Urban Knights swept a doubleheader versus Holy Names out at Dominican's Penguin Field. An 8-7 game one victory had ART U deliver 12 hits, four of which plated runs in a momentum-shifting fifth, then the day's finale turned by way of two separate three-run rallies in the fourth and sixth innings for a 7-4 triumph.

GAME 1 – ART U 8, HNU 7
The Urban Knights wasted no time in getting onto the scoreboard in the first inning with sophomore outfielder Bethany Mitchell drawing a walk before the tandem of junior catcher Lauryn Henderson and freshman infielder Haley Randall delivered back-to-back singles. After Randall's hit put the first run on the board, Henderson scored the second herself when she stole home during a defensive mixup. Junior utility Neenah Pangilinan then provided the third run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to cap the three-run opening frame.

Holy Names, however, put together its own rally in the bottom half of what became a 40-minute first inning. Three came home after a hit, an error, and some aggressive base-running by the Hawks. After dodging another threat in the second, senior pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (8-7) tossed a three-up, three-down third then struck out the side in the fourth while her team gave her further support.

Academy of Art broke the tie in the fourth on a pair of singles and an error then extended the lead with run-scoring singles from four different Knights in the fifth. Pangilinan, sophomore catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman, graduate student Gabi Hirsch, and Mitchell combined for the four-spot and ART U was on top 8-3 moving into the late innings.

HNU got two runs back later in the fifth then, following a quiet sixth, three straight singles began the bottom of the seventh in an 8-5 ballgame. An error and a groundout led to a pair scoring, but after returning in relief in the sixth, Balke finished off her 44th career victory by inducing a lineout for the 8-7 end result.

GAME 2 – ART U 7, HNU 4
Like the series opener, Academy of Art struck first in game two with graduate student infielder Chelsea Sligh providing the third hit of the first inning, a run-scoring single, to give her team a 1-0 advantage. Junior pitcher Cecilia Lopez (4-3) then went to work and kept the Hawks off the scoreboard for the first three innings, walking none and allowing just three hits in that span.

The Knights increased their lead to 4-0 in the fourth as one run scored on a Pangilinan groundout, another on a throwing error, and the last on Hirsch's fourth double of the year. Trouble brewed in the bottom of that inning though with three hits combining with two errors to produce a three-run rally. Another two hits and an error came in the fifth to tie game two at 4-4, but the ART U response was swift.

The top of the sixth began with Pangilinan's walk and soon she touched home on Mitchell's eighth double of the season. That was quickly followed by back-to-back run-scoring singles from Hirsch and freshman outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki. When the dust had settled, the Knights were up 7-4 and it was Balke who worked the final two innings, managing to keep HNU at bay despite seeing the tying run come to the plate in the seventh.

Picking up its seventh and eighth straight wins over Holy Names, Academy of Art improves to 14-12 overall and 13-9 in PacWest play with the day's results. Hirsch was the lone Urban Knight to record multi-hit games in both contests, finishing 5-for-9 with three RBIs, a double, two runs scored, and three stolen bases. Pangilinan also drove in three in the twin bill while Mitchell followed with two RBIs as part of her 3-for-8 day that included a double, three runs scored, and two steals.

Henderson pushed her reached base streak to 24 games after going 2-for-5 in the opener then walking in the second and, behind her in the batting order, Randall went 3-for-8 with one RBI and Sligh finished 4-for-6 with one RBI as well. Multi-hit games also came for Mittman who was 2-for-3 with one RBI in the first and Lopez who ended 2-for-4 in the batter's box in the second. Picking up both wins and tossing 8.2 innings over the two games on Thursday, Balke became the program's new career innings pitched leader with now 518.1 in her time at ART U.

Dropping to 6-16 both overall and in conference action, Holy Names was led offensively by Lyndsey Widner's 3-for-4, one-RBI performance in game one then Kimberlee Walston's 2-for-4 game two effort that included two RBIs. In the circle, Chailey Stewart (0-4) was charged with the loss in the series opener after surrendering eight runs on 10 hits across 4.2 innings while Kelsey Volkmar (2-4) took game two's loss after giving up six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.

The Urban Knights and Hawks will face off in one final doubleheader tomorrow beginning at noon at Mission Blue Field. A ceremony to honor Hirsch, Sligh, Lopez, and Balke will take place prior to first pitch.