ART U started its seventh year with a bang as senior
Jasmine Dickenson followed up senior
Taylor Thurman's single with a two-run homer over the centerfield fence. Sophomore
Alexa Peters preserved the 2-0 lead by getting out of the bottom of the first with a strikeout, but the Pioneers staged a comeback with four runs in the fourth.
Mitchell made her collegiate debut in the third inning and started by retiring nine of the first 10 batters she saw. The Angelo Rodriguez High School product struck out a pair in the sixth and, after Thurman's RBI single scored senior
Haily MacDonald, the Urban Knights entered the seventh inning down just a single run 4-3.
CSUEB's Sierra Clark (2-0) ended up finishing off her complete game with three outs in the final frame and the Pioneers prevailed 4-3 to remain undefeated through their first five games of the year.
Much like the first game, round two started with Academy of Art going up 1-0 in the first inning on Dickenson's RBI single to score fellow senior
Kamyle Glover. The Pioneers followed the same trend and scored four times on five hits in the bottom of the first.
The gap shrunk in the second inning when freshman
Samantha Klune crushed a ball beyond the left field fence, getting two back for the Knights in just her fourth collegiate at-bat. Cal State East Bay plated one more in the second and the 5-3 margin would last through the third inning.
In the fourth, Klune and graduate student
Nirana Singh set the table with a single and a double before Curtis came through with a big two-run single through the left side. That hit not only tied the game but also knocked out CSUEB's starting pitcher as well.
Mitchell settled into a rhythm after returning in the first inning and allowed only the single run through the fifth. After junior
Elise Oldham singled to start the sixth, Curtis stepped to the plate and launched a two-run double into left center, scoring her teammate and giving ART U a 6-5 lead. The Pioneers, however, did not go without a fight and tied things up with a RBI single in the sixth.
MacDonald practically broke the deadlock herself in the top of the seventh, tripling to right center before scoring on a wild pitch. After Thurman walked and sophomore
Jessica West singled, Oldham returned to bring Thurman in for an insurance run. Mitchell and the ART U defense quickly dispatched CSUEB in order in the seventh and came away 8-6 winners.
Academy of Art begins its 2015 campaign 1-1 overall, led by Curtis' 2-for-3, three-RBI performance in the second game. Dickenson was 2-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs on the day while Klune was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in the second contest. Oldham was 3-for-4 with a RBI in that game as well. Mitchell starred in the circle, collectively throwing 10.0 innings while allowing just two earned runs and striking out four across both games.
For the Pioneers, now 5-1 on the year, Jaynie MacDonald was the top performer, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs while Clark had the top pitching performance. She went a complete 7.0 innings with three runs allowed on five hits in the first contest.
ART U will travel to Turlock this weekend for doubleheaders on Saturday (Chico State, Cal State Stanislaus) and Sunday (SF State, Chico State) in the Best of the West Invitational.
Live Stats will be available for all four games.
