SAN FRANCISCO – Growth and development were prevalent throughout the 2016 Academy of Art University softball season. A youthful team persevered through one of the most challenging schedules the program has seen, splitting often, winning six of its first seven Pacific West Conference games, and even breaking ART U's home runs record to upset the highest ranked team faced since 2011.

"Reflecting on the season, we certainly competed well with some tough opponents," said second-year head coach Sonja Garnett. "We were a young team with a tough schedule, and we struggled all year to find consistency on both offense and defense. Most of the season we competed with ourselves whether it was overcoming injuries, adversity, mental struggles, or not letting down after great performances. We certainly learned the importance of showing up competitive every day."

Right off the bat on Feb. 4, the Urban Knights went up against what would be NCAA National Champion runner-up Humboldt State (ranked No. 13 at the time) and delivered two impressive performances. Against one of the top offenses in the country, sophomore Brenna Mitchell threw a five-hit gem and allowed just a single run on a sacrifice bunt in a 1-0 loss. The second game featured a unique ending with ART U's seventh-inning comeback leading to a 6-6 tie versus a team that would finish the year with 54 wins.

Academy of Art carried the momentum from that series into a road split with Chico State (who would finish 40-16 overall) on Feb. 6 then fell twice to NCAA West Super Regional runner-up Central Washington (another team with 40+ wins on the year) on Feb. 12. More competition with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference brought Northwest Nazarene to Mission Blue Field on Feb. 13 and it was then that the Knights earned their first home victory behind a three runs batted in from freshman infielder Brenna Youngquist.

An inspired comeback against SF State on Feb. 14 was highlighted by Mitchell's first collegiate home run and senior catcher Elise Oldham's run-scoring double before another Oldham highlight, this one a solo home run, earned ART U a split with Cal State East Bay on Feb. 19. The final non-conference series pit Academy of Art against a second-year program in Texas A&M-Commerce, but the matchup proved challenging as the Lions went on to win 37 games.

"Over 25 percent of our schedule was made up of teams that were ranked nationally in the top 25 at some point this year," said Garnett. "That is who we must compete with to build this program. Many of these teams we were able to compete with and even beat. I think this level of competition prepared us well for conference opponents."

The start of PacWest play was a memorable one for the Knights who swept Holy Names on Feb. 27 behind the second-most runs scored in program history (13) in game two. Carrying that momentum into its Hawaii roadtrip, ART U took three of four from Chaminade including a 21-run day on Mar. 13 that saw Youngquist set a new single-game record with six RBIs. She would go on to earn PacWest Newcomer of the Week honors following up Mitchell's Player of the Week selection as "The Brennas" shined.

A split at BYU-Hawaii on Mar. 15 led Academy of Art to start 6-1 in conference play and though they defeated Hawaii Pacific 5-3 on Mar. 17 (senior outfielder Andrea Gill's two-run double was among the highlights), the trip would saw ART U go 5-5 after tough results at UH Hilo. Back home to end March, freshman True Park's first collegiate complete game ended in a victory over Notre Dame de Namur (Mar. 25) after Oldham, that week's PacWest Player of the Week, homered and Youngquist drove in the winning run. Then, one day later, both Oldham and Youngquist stayed hot, smashing two of the team's three homers in an 11-6 win as part of a split hosting Dominican on Brisbane Appreciation Day.

"Last year we relied heavily on our seniors to produce runs and steady our defense," said Garnett. "This year, we molded underclassmen to fill those shoes. Nothing teaches better than game experience and I am confident that our athletes learned a lot from our successes and failures this season."

The month of April brought the Tournament of Champions where ART U faced a host of California Collegiate Athletic Association opponents and one from the GNAC. Academy of Art experienced a close loss each of the three days including one-run affairs to Cal State Monterey Bay (Apr. 1) and Simon Fraser (Apr. 3). The Knights would bounce back with a 10-0 victory over NDNU in their Apr. 8 return to conference play, benefitting from a pair of three-run homers from sophomore infielder Samantha Klune and Oldham as well as Mitchell's complete game shutout on her birthday.

Though home for much of the rest of the season, ART U entered its toughest stretch with games against the top four teams in the PacWest standings by the year's end. Hosting Azusa Pacific on Apr. 12, Academy of Art started strong with a 4-1 triumph that featured the game-winning run driven in by freshman infielder Juliana Lopez. That was followed by sweeps at the hands of Concordia and Dixie State, but with No. 16 California Baptist in town on Apr. 21, the script changed.

The Urban Knights hit a program record four home runs including two from junior outfielder and eventual PacWest Player of the Week Jessica West to pull off the biggest upset in the past five years, 8-7 over the Lancers. Two days later on Apr. 23, ART U remained competitive against CBU while celebrating its two seniors, Gill and Oldham. Both Knights responded to the moment as Gill made a dramatic catch over the fence in center field and Oldham broke the program's career runners caught stealing record.

"The PacWest is a strong conference and there are no easy wins," said Garnett. "Concordia, Dixie, California Baptist, and Azusa Pacific all had an impressive year. I certainly would have liked to see us finish higher in conference, but for the youth we had, I am proud of what the women were able to accomplish. We always focus on the process as opposed to the result, and I am happy the growth we had this year."

Academy of Art's final roadtrip took them to Dominican on Apr. 30 and saw junior Hunter Allen throw a complete-game shutout as part of the split. After a rain-rescheduled rematch with Holy Names, ART U concluded the season 17-34-1 overall and 13-19 in conference play. 

The year was capped by All-PacWest Team honors for West (Second Team) and Mitchell (Third Team). Thriving at the top of the lineup all season, West finished 2016 ranked among the conference's top 10 in runs scored, batting average, doubles, and triples among conference-only statistics. Mitchell, who repeated as Third Team, demonstrated her versatility by adding at-bats as a designated player and first baseman to consistent production as the Knights' starting pitcher.

Complementing the efforts by West and Mitchell were breakout freshman campaigns from Youngquist and Lopez. Both were productive at the plate, hitting over .300 while thriving in the upper half of the lineup. That quartet along with Klune represent five of ART U's top six batting averages who will return for what looks to be a dynamic 2017 season.

"Brenna [Youngquist] and Juliana were consistently two of our three best hitters throughout season," said Garnett. "Brenna [Mitchell] and Sam have proven to be consistent defenders and competitors. Our soon-to-be senior class is full of talent and grit and they are eager to lead the charge. In total, we have a group of talented returners who are bought into our coaching philosophy and are ready to come back and improve. We are very excited to add nine new talented athletes to this program and keep moving forward."