Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3

TURLOCK, Calif. – Playing 22 innings of softball on day one of the Tournament of Champions, Academy of Art University came back from losses to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington with a clutch 2-1 victory over Western Oregon. The Urban Knights logged 10 hits apiece in the first two games which both ended with their opponents on top 8-3 then tough pitching from sophomore Alexa Peters (4-7) and freshman Brenna Mitchell (11-9) paid off after sophomore outfielder Jessica West delivered the game-winning RBI single in the eighth inning against WOU.

Jessica West with the WALKOFF!! @ARTUSoftball wins final game of the day 2-1 over Western Oregon in B8! PacWestSB ARTUSBFam #ArtSchool A video posted by Be Artist. Be Athlete. (@artu_knights) on Mar 27, 2015 at 4:59pm PDT

"The first two games we played tight in clutch situations," said head coach Sonja Garnett. "We hit well, just did not produce. Defensively we came out much stronger in the third game and our pitching did a nice job. We did the small things right and it made a big difference against Western Oregon."

GAME ONE
Although ART U loaded the bases in the first and put two on in the second, it was Northwest Nazarene who scored early in their half of the second. The 2-0 lead was threatened in the third when Academy of Art once again got its leadoff hitter aboard, but the Crusaders managed an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

The margin became 5-0 in the third on three straight hits by NNU, however, ART U got one back in the fourth on a run-scoring single by senior infielder Kamyle Glover. The 5-1 score held up until the bottom of the fifth when a three-run homer off the bat of Brianna Kinghorn made it 8-1.

For the sixth consecutive inning, the Knights started with their leadoff hitter aboard and back-to-back RBI groundouts cut the Crusader lead down to 8-3. The makings of a two-out comeback for Academy of Art materialized in the seventh, but it ended with a flyout and 8-3 wound up the final.

GAME TWO
Central Washington plated the first run of its rematch with ART U in the first inning on a RBI single only to see its next two batters go down on strikes against Mitchell. The freshman and her defense proceeded to retire nine consecutive Wildcats, but Lindsey Kamphuis (8-6) did her part to match with only two hits allowed through the first four innings.

The 1-0 CWU lead evaporated in the fifth when singles by senior infielder Jasmine Dickenson and graduate student catcher Nirana Singh set up a RBI groundout for senior outfielder Haily MacDonald to tie the game. However, in the half inning that followed, Central Washington used a sacrifice fly and a RBI single to go back up 3-1.

Junior catcher Elise Oldham backed up a West double with a RBI single in the sixth and a 3-2 contest proceeded to shift dramatically with CWU at the plate in the bottom half. Six hits produced five runs to make it an 8-2 score favoring the Wildcats. Though West helped the Knights get one back with a RBI groundout in the seventh, the 8-3 victory would belong to Central Washington.

GAME THREE
The home team for the first time on Friday, Academy of Art put the game's first run on the board to start its final contest against Western Oregon. After MacDonald's bat stayed hot with an infield single and her third consecutive game with a stolen base, senior infielder Taylor Thurman brought her in on a groundout.

Peters held the Wolves hitless through the first three innings, however, a double steal at the tail end of the third tied the game 1-1. Walks got the ART U starter in trouble in the fourth and Mitchell was called upon to serve in relief. Mitchell was lights out, striking out six of the first 10 batters she faced to eventually take the Knights into extra innings still tied 1-1.

Per tournament rules, the international tiebreaker was employed (starting each inning with a runner at second base) in the eighth. A sacrifice bunt gave WOU a prime scoring chance, but Mitchell induced two outs and Academy of Art proceeded to load the bases on a MacDonald bunt single and a walk to Glover. The Wolves got one out on a force play at home only to watch the game go to the Knights on a RBI single by West. The 2-1 final was in large part the product of two solid pitching efforts by Peters (3.2 innings, one hit and one run allowed) and Mitchell (4.1 innings, one hit and no runs allowed, six strikeouts).

Academy of Art moves to 15-19 overall this season with the day's results. For an ART U squad that logged 10 hits in each contest, MacDonald was absolutely on fire, hitting .692 (9-for-13) after a 4-for-5 game one performance. She stole three bases and scored three times while Singh followed with a .429 clip (3-for-7) and West hit .417 (5-for-12) with now a six-game hitting streak. Glover went 4-for-10 (.400) and two RBIs apiece came from West, Thurman, and Oldham.

ART U returns to Pedretti Park (Field 5) for a Tournament of Champions doubleheader versus Simon Fraser (3:45 p.m.) and Montana State-Billings (6:00 p.m.) tomorrow.

"I want to focus on keeping our energy and intensity up!" said Garnett. "We need to execute the simple plays and continue to hit."