BRISBANE, Calif.—Hawai`i Hilo and Academy of Art took turns planting high scoring victories on each other during a split of a softball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Mission Blue Field.

The Vulcans won the first five-inning game 10-2, and the Urban Knights won the nightcap, 10-9. With the split, UH Hilo is now 10-14 on the season and 4-10 in the Pacific West Conference. Academy of Art is 13-15 overall and 7-9 in conference action.

UH Hilo put a licking on the Urban Knights immediately in game one. They scored six runs in the first inning, using four hits to chase those half dozen across the plate. Danielle Pulido and Kristen Ishii had two-run singles in the inning and Billi Derleth slapped a run-scoring single.

Derleth was the star of game from two different vantage points. She would bash a two-run home run in the second inning, and also hold down their hosts from the pitching circle. She pitched all five innings, allowing five hits and just two earned runs to improve to 3-2 on the season.

For the game, Mari Kawano and Pulido had two hits and two RBI each. Derleth had two hits and drove in three runs.

The second game was the polar opposite. The Urban Knights scored three runs in each of the first three innings, while UH Hilo struggled to repeat their offensive work from the first game early on as AAU built a 9-1 lead.

But the Vulcans roared back, staving off a potential mercy rule game. Their bats came alive in the top of the fourth. Derleth had a two-run double and Cristina Menjivar added a two-run single to help spur the comeback. The rally continued in the fifth when Ishii blasted a two-run homer.

It was 10-8 Urban Knights in the top of the seventh, UHH's last chance. Derleth doubled again and eventually scored on a wild pitch, but the Vulcans couldn't get the one more run needed to stay alive.

The Vulcans had 10 hits in the game, with two each by Ishii, Kawano, Derleth and Menjivar.

The two teams will play another twinbill on Sunday, with the first game set for noon PDT.