Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Brisbane, CA – Battling Cal State East Bay in a pair of close games, Academy of Art University Softball unfortunately could not pull out a win as the Pioneers claimed the opener 2-1 and the finale 8-3. Game one went into extra innings after Lauren Stover's clutch hit in the sixth tied it and, per international tiebreaker rule, each team began the eighth with a runner at second, but CSUEB managed to score an unearned run first for the victory. Although Taylor Thurman broke a 2-2 tie with a solo home run midway through game two, six unearned runs by the Pioneers in the seventh spelled the difference.

After a 40-minute umpire delay, the teams exchanged three scoreless innings to start the twinbill as starter Alexa Peters allowed just a single hit during that stretch. In the fourth, CSUEB managed to one run across on a walk and RBI single, but it was not long after that ART U equalized.

The Urban Knights started the sixth with a bunt single from Elyse Cordova and she continued to show her speed. After a steal of second and taking third on a wild pitch, she came home on a pinch hit RBI single by Stover.

In a 1-1 game in the seventh, Peters struck out the second batter of her longest start of the season before handing the ball to Jill Johnson (7-10). Despite facing runners on second and third shortly after coming in, Johnson induced a popup and flyout to get out of the jam. Academy of Art had a walk off opportunity in their half of the seventh following a single by Kamyle Glover and a double from Cordova, but a flyout ended that chance as well.

The eighth inning began with a runner placed at second base per the international tiebreaker rule and, thanks to a passed ball as well as a wild pitch, the Pioneers scored first to go up 2-1. ART U had the runner in scoring position advantage in the bottom half, but two outs with Thurman at third ended the contest in favor of CSUEB.


Cal State East Bay carried that momentum into the second contest, taking a 1-0 lead on a RBI double in the opening inning, however, ART U fought back with two in the second to go ahead. A two-out rally began with Haily MacDonald being hit and stealing second. Back-to-back RBI singles from Jessica West and Glover did the trick as the Knights took their first lead of the day.

The Pioneers quickly tied it back up 2-2 in the third on a throwing error and yet that score was also short-lived because Thurman blasted her fifth home run of the season, a solo shot, over the fence to lead off the bottom of the third.

Johnson, the game two starter, was in her rhythm as the game wore on as she needed just five pitches to get through the fifth and seven to retire the side in the sixth. She retired 10 of the final 11 batters she faced before Carlee Emerson came in for a save opportunity in the seventh. An error allowed the first hitter to reach and, after the game was tied on a RBI single, three more hits mixed with three more errors and a total of six unearned runs crossed the plate. That momentum shift was too great to overcome and East Bay would finish the game up 8-3.

The 12-26 Urban Knights were led by Thurman's 3-for-4 game two that included the home run while Cordova added two more multi-hit games, finishing the day 4-for-8 with a double and two steals. She now carries an eight-game hitting streak into the weekend. Glover went 3-for-8 with a RBI and Stover maintained her lead in career RBIs with the one coming as part of her 1-for-2 game one performance.

Peters had her best start of the season, going 6.1 innings with a single run allowed on five hits and two strikeouts. Johnson was very solid in both of her appearances, allowing only one earned run on five hits in a total of 7.2 innings pitched with two strikeouts as well.

Academy of Art returns to Pacific West Conference play this Friday when the Knights host Notre Dame de Namur for a 12:00 PM doubleheader back at Mission Blue Field.