A warm evening at California Baptist's John C. Funk Stadium in Southern California saw Academy of Art University softball hold the Lancers' potent offense to just four hits in game one before multiple rallies in game two ended gave the home team the sweep. CBU took the opener 2-0 after a pitcher's duel saw a quality start by sophomore
outshined by Kellye Springstead's near perfect game. The Lancers scored early and often en route to a five-inning 8-0 victory in the finale.
"California Baptist is a great team," said head coach
Sonja Garnett. "They played strong defense and had a good day. We hit the ball well in game one, we just couldn't find a gap. Game two we didn't make an adjustment at the plate and we didn't commit to playing our game."
GAME 1 – CBU 2, ART U 0
All signs pointed to a pitchers' duel after Springstead and Park retired the first three batters they each faced to start the first game. Park allowed a leadoff single in the second, but continued to keep California Baptist scoreless until the third when Soraya Shahbazian drove in a run with her single.
Park proceeded to retire the next nine batters she faced while her team broke up Springstead's perfect game with freshman catcher
Ryia Grant's one-out double in the sixth. A double play, however, kept the Urban Knights from getting on the scoreboard.
The Lancers plated one more in the sixth on Brittany Galvez's single, but against an offense that came in hitting over .300, Park's two runs allowed were impressive despite the 2-0 end result.
"True threw an amazing game today," said Garnett. "I am very proud of her performance against a strong offensive team."
GAME 2 – CBU 8, ART U 0 (5)
The Lancers' offense, which came in with more than 20 home runs as a collective unit, got started with London Miller's two-run homer in the first inning of game two. That margin widened in the second when another long ball, this a three-run shot from Shahbazian, flew over the centerfield fence.
ART U had put runners into scoring position in the second (Grant's second double of the day), the fourth (freshman infielder
Gracie Sotomayor's single plus a sacrifice bunt), and the fifth (hit batter and a ground out), but none bore fruit. And after a run-scoring triple in the fourth, CBU won 8-0 in walk-off fashion with Hallie Rosario's two-run double.
Academy of Art saw its four-game win streak come to an end and moves to 11-9 overall this year (5-3 in PacWest play). Park put up a stellar start in the opener, allowing just two runs on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Grant finished the day 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Winners of now six straight, California Baptist rises to 14-7 on the year and 8-2 in conference. Shahbazian was key offensively with a 2-for-5 day that included four runs batted in and the homer. Springstead went 7.0 innings with just the one hit allowed and two strikeouts then Ciara Stapp (5-3) posted a three-hit shutout with a pair of strikeouts in the finale.
ART U gets a day off before its next Southern California matchup with Azusa Pacific on Thursday, Mar. 16 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
"We look forward to playing APU," said Garnett. "Our team loves a challenge and, while we have some small adjustments to make, I believe we will bounce back and compete well on Thursday."
