BRISBANE, Calif.—In a pair of softball games that could have major post-season implications, Academy of Art stood tall with a doubleheader sweep of Hawai`i Hilo on Tuesday afternoon at Mission Blue Field.
The Urban Knights rode the pitching of freshman standout Brooke Larsen in the first game and scored early and frequently in game two to claim the twinbill, 4-3 and 9-1.
Academy of Art, who entered the day one game ahead of the Vulcans in the Pacific West Conference standings but one spot behind UHH in the west region rankings, improved to 37-12 on the year and to 20-6 in the PacWest. The Vulcans are now 29-15 overall and 17-9 in conference action.
Today's games were the only meetings this season between the two teams.
In the first game, Larsen struck out nine and survived six walks to improve to 20-3 on the year. She allowed just three UH Hilo hits and only one earned run.
The Vulcans opened the game with promise when
Kiarra Lincoln singled and
Mari Kawano walked. But Larsen gathered herself and induced a fly out, then proceeded to strike out the next five batters she faced.
Meahwhile, the Urban Knights scored in the first inning courtesy of Gabby Hirsch's triple, and again twice in the third with help after two walks and a hit batter. The Vulcans would finally get in the scoring column in the fourth via two walks and a
Maria Steadmon double, and they would add one final tally in the seventh on a Kawano walk,
Bailey Gaspar single and
Isabelle Mejia ground ball. But Larsen would get a ground out to end the game.
Leah Gonzales took the loss (7-3), allowing seven hits in six innings and four earned runs. The Vulcans had just three hits, by Lincoln, Gaspar and Steadmon.
In the second game, the Urban Knight's bats caught fire. They scored two runs in each of the first four innings and one more in the fifth to complete the mercy-rule win. The Vulcans helped their hosts with a pair of errors, three walks and a hit batter, while the Urban Knights added eight hits to the cause—including a home run by Brenna Youngquist.
The Vulcans scored their lone run in the fourth, when Kawano walked, Gaspar singled and
Brinell Kaleikini doubled. That was one of Kaleikini's two hits in the game for her team, who had just four base knocks total.
Mejia took the loss in the pitcher's circle (5-6), despite pitching just the first inning. Cecilia Lopez (10-4) was the pitching winner for the Urban Knights.
The Vulcans will now return home and regroup, hosting Hawai`i Pacific in another critical PacWest doubleheader on Friday. Start time at the UH Hilo field is noon.
