HAYWARD, Calif. – Saving two of its biggest offensive outputs for the last day of the season, Academy of Art softball's 29 hits yielded over 20 runs in a Pacific West Conference sweep of Holy Names out at Chabot College on Saturday. A closely-contested first game was blown open late as the Urban Knights plated six runs in a seventh-inning comeback toward the 10-7 victory before game two saw the Hawks counter ART U's four-run seventh with their own rally to force the contest to be decided 11-10 on a single from senior outfielder Bethany Mitchell in the 10th inning. Among the standout performances, junior utility Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki connected on three home runs, continuously jolting the Academy of Art bats throughout the afternoon.

GAME 1 – ART U 10, HNU 7
A 2-0 lead on three hits in the second inning was quickly answered by singles from freshman catcher/infielder Olivia Glover and junior infielder Haley Randall Randall to set up Allen's double which brought both of her teammates home. Thought Holy Names put up four in the third, ART U was again quick to respond as Grayhorse-Pupecki sprinted around the bases for the second inside-the-park home run of her career to add two to the Knights' total and make it 6-4 ball game.

It wasn't until the sixth that more offense was had as HNU pushed one more run across for a 7-4 advantage, but once again the Knights provided a rebuttal with Grayhorse-Pupecki connecting for another homer, this one beyond the fence, to become the seventh Urban Knight ever with multiple blasts in the same game. That sparked an Academy of Art comeback that featured successive run-scoring singles from Mitchell, senior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman, and junior outfielder Maddie Sticka all before sophomore outfielder Sydney Harmon's two-run double.

The Hawks brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but freshman pitcher Kamielle Powell (7-14) finished off the 10-7 victory by dodging the threat, earning the win with no earned runs allowed on three hits plus one walk and two strikeouts in 4.0 innings of relief.

GAME 2 – ART U 11, HNU 10 (10)
After the bases became loaded on an error, a double by Allen, and a single from Mitchell, Mittman delivered two on a single then another came in on junior infielder Katie Humphreys' groundout, giving Academy of Art a 3-0 lead to start the season finale.

The Knights added on in the third with Sticka drawing a bases-loaded walk, but HNU then cut the deficit in half with two runs of its own in the home half of the third. Further unleashing her power, Grayhorse-Pupecki began the fourth with a solo home run to center field for a 5-2 advantage that held through Powell getting ART U out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth to the fifth where the Hawks got one back.

Up 6-3 in the seventh, Academy of Art expanded the margin in a big way with Glover smashing her first collegiate homer, a two-run blast, to center and Allen delivering the frame's fourth run on a single. Now in front 10-3, ART U struggled to log the game's final three outs as Holy Names roared back with a seven-run home half to make it a 10-10 game and trigger extra innings.

Senior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (3-25) returned to the circle to pick up where she left off in fourth and proceeded to keep HNU scoreless over the three frames that followed, allowing just one hit in each. It was not until the top of the 10th when Randall scored on a single up the middle by Mitchell for what would soon be the 11-10 final. Facing the winning run in scoring position, Arnold-Jolley got a huge double play from Glover before going out a winner in her final collegiate appearance, surrendering no earned runs on 10 hits with one walk in 6.1 total innings of work.

Academy of Art finishes the regular season at 10-41 overall and 6-24 in PacWest play with Grayhorse-Pupecki having a truly memorable day with three home runs, four runs batted in, four runs scored, and a double as part of a 5-for-10 doubleheader. After a 3-for-4 first game that featured two runs batted in, a double, and a run scored, Allen was 3-for-6 with another RBI and run scored while doubling for her fourth straight contest to close the season.

Mitchell saved the first four-hit day of her career for her final game (four hits ties the program's single-game record) as she went 4-for-6 with one run batted in and two runs scored. Adding to her season total of 34 runs scored (fourth in PacWest), Randall touched home plate a total of six times on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the first game before joining just four other Knights before her to score four times in one contest as part of a 1-for-5 game two. Mittman drove in three on the afternoon as part of a 4-for-9 effort, Harmon knocked in two in the first game, and Glover wrapped up her first collegiate season with a 2-for-4 first contest followed by the homer in her 1-for-5 finale.

In the program's final year, Holy Names ends 13-34 overall and 10-21 in conference action. Olivia Lee led the way offensively with five runs batted in as part of a 5-for-11 day that included a double, a run scored, and a stolen base. The loss in the first contest went to Megan Yorba (1-7) after she allowed six runs on seven hits in 2.0 relief innings and Giana Quintanar (1-6) dropped the finale despite not allowing an earned run on one hit while striking out three in 3.0 innings.

This concludes the 2023 campaign for Academy of Art softball. For the latest news and information, and the upcoming season in review, check out www.ARTUAthletics.com.