TURLOCK, Calif. – Starting off its fourth-ever appearance in the Tournament of Champions out at Pedretti Park, ART U softball took a pair of tough losses to two teams who had been ranked among the top 25 nationally earlier this year. The day opened with a 9-2 defeat at the hands of Sonoma State then ended with Academy of Art leading Cal State Monterey Bay in the sixth before a two-run homer turned the tide for a 4-3 Otters victory.
GAME ONE (SSU 9, ART U 2)
?The Urban Knights opened up against Sonoma State and found themselves facing a tough pitcher in Brielle Vidmar (6-1). A two-run rally by way of a two-run home run in the second inning benefitted her cause then five touched home plate in the third.
Though one of ART U's best chances to score was to no avail in the fifth and the Seawolves plated another run in the sixth, Academy of Art did not back down and broke through for two of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Both came in on sophomore infielder
Samantha Klune's first career triple. Despite the rally, SSU got two more in the seventh to win 9-2. Vidmar went a complete 7.0 innings with two runs allowed on four hits.
GAME TWO (CSUMB 4, ART U 3)In a highly anticipated matchup between head coach
Sonja Garnett and the program she assisted with for two years previously, the Otters struck first. Academy of Art had two runners in scoring position in the first inning after senior outfielder
Andrea Gill walked and senior infielder Youngquist doubled, but instead, Cal State Monterey Bay scored once in both the third and fourth to go up 2-0.
??In the fifth, after three straight singles by freshman infielder
Jennifer Thompson, junior outfielder
Jessica West, and Gill loaded the bases, Youngquist stepped in, fouled off five, and proceeded to send a rocket up the middle that bounced off the shortstop. The freshman's second double of the game gives a team-high 10 in one day.
Sophomore pitcher
Brenna Mitchell (8-6) and the ART U defense held the 3-2 lead initially, however, Courtney Hennings stepped in for a pinch-hit two-run homer in the sixth, shifting the advantage to CSUMB. The last chance for the Knights soon came in the seventh where leadoff hitter
Jessica West reached third on a walk, steal, and groundout, but she could not come home to tie it after a game-ending groundout. The Otters would prevail 4-3.
The day's results put Academy of Art at 13-18-1 overall. Klune stood out with the two-run triple as part of a 1-for-3 game one and Youngquist doubled twice in a 2-for-4 game two that included three runs batted in.
The win upped Sonoma State's overall record to 18-13 and CSUMB is now 16-16. Jordann White and Mayleen Mazon each had a pair of RBIs for SSU while Hennings' pinch-hit home run came as part of a 1-for-1 game two performance.
ART U will be back at Pedretti Park for another set of 2 p.m. (Stanislaus State) and 7 p.m. (No. 25 Chico State) contests at Field 2 and Field 3 respectively.
