RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Academy of Art and No. 15 California Baptist clashed in two of closely contested Pacific West Conference contests on Thursday night out at John C. Funk Stadium. It turned out not to be ART U's day as the Lancers ended the Urban Knights' athletic department record 13-game win streak with a come-from-behind 6-4 victory in the opener then, after a pitchers' duel between both sides' bullpens, game two ended 2-0 in favor of CBU by way of a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"Both games were well-played today," said head coach Sonja Garnett. "California Baptist had a great day and we played really well. We made some defensive mistakes in the first game, but were able to produce runs and keep the pressure on. Game two was a pitching duel. Cece was amazing and we had a lot of opportunities to score. CBU came out on top in the end, but I am so proud of how we played today."

GAME 1 – CBU 6, ART U 4
Facing Lancers starter Iven Alvarado (5-1), Academy of Art immediately posed a threat in the first inning by loading the bases on an infield single by sophomore outfielder Gabi Hirsch plus two walks. As she has done all season, sophomore infielder Gracie Sotomayor would deliver, sending a two-run single to right field for the early lead.

Freshman pitcher Brooke Larsen (21-4) looked strong out of the gate, breaking the program's single-season strikeout record amid a stretch of four punchouts in five batters. Her 201st batter retired on strikes surpassed the 200 recorded by Sierrah Garcia in 2010. Larsen was soon provided a 4-0 advantage in the third when senior utility Brenna Mitchell crushed her fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot, beyond the fence in left center.

Three runs on four hits in the bottom half of that inning put the Lancers right back within striking distance the Knights clutched a 4-3 lead heading into the fourth. Despite what could have been two defensive gems from sophomore utility Dominique Seva'aetasi in the fourth, CBU tied the game 4-4 on a run-scoring double from Brittany Galvez.

Seva'aetasi made another diving catch to steal a hit from the PacWest's batting average leader Hannah Thieroff in the fifth, but three singles helped the Lancers rally for a decisive two-run rally in the sixth. Forced to call upon sophomore pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (4-2) in relief, ART U got the final two outs it needed heading into its last chance offensively. Though the Knights brought the tying run to the plate after a two-out single by junior outfielder Katie Tablada, California Baptist induced one final groundout for the 6-4 victory.

GAME 2 – CBU 2, ART U 0
Both teams faced bases-loaded situations across the change of innings from the bottom of the second to the top of the third in game two. By that point, both starting pitchers were out of the contest and what ensued was an intense duel between freshman Cecilia Lopez (10-5) and CBU's Ciara Stapp (17-7).

The Knights and Lancers each had opportunities with various walks issued and hits sprinkled in, but between the bottom of the third and top of the fifth, neither pitcher faced more than one base-runner at a time. The mirror match continued with both sides extricating themselves from runners at the corners in successive innings from the bottom of the fifth to the top of the sixth.

Late in the sixth, Lopez and the ART U defense had one of its best frames with highlight plays made by senior infielder Samantha Klune and freshman infielder Jayda Alaan before a strikeout ended it. Momentum from impressive effort by Seva'aetasi in the opener carried on throughout the day.

"Dom is playing amazing in the outfield," said Garnett. "She made some huge plays for us game one and our defense was rock solid in game two. Sam and Jayda also came up with some huge plays for us."

The top of the seventh saw Alaan's milestone as, in less than a full single season, she broke the program's career hit-by-pitch record after wearing her 28th ball of the year. Though she reached base, it did not turn into a score and, instead, the Lancers finished with a walk-off two-run homer to left three batters into the bottom of the seventh, securing a 2-0 win and the sweep.

The losses, which make Academy of Art concede second-place in the PacWest standings to the Lancers, move the Knights' conference record to 22-8 and overall record to 39-14. For ART U, Klune went 3-for-4, Hirsch was 3-for-7, and two runs batted in came from both Mitchell (2-for-7 with a home run) and Sotomayor (1-for-6). Though she did not complete the second inning, Mitchell (4-3) kept her current scoreless innings streak intact, moving it up to 13.2 thus far. Lopez took a tough-luck loss, throwing 4.2 scoreless relief innings before surrendering the two-run homer.

California Baptist completes its regular season at 25-7 in PacWest play and 33-10 overall. The Lancer offense was led by Galvez who finished 4-for-7 with a home run and five RBIs. Ciara Stapp picked up relief wins in both games, finishing with a total of 9.0 scoreless innings, four hits allowed, one walk, and seven strikeouts.

ART U now turns its attention to Saturday where the Urban Knights' first nationally-televised games will take place at No. 19 Dixie State in Utah to end the regular season. The teams' doubleheader is set to begin at noon MT (11 a.m. PT).

"For Dixie, we just have to keep competing," said Garnett. "We played loose and all-out, especially in game two today so we need to focus each pitch and each inning on Saturday and we will be fine."