SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – On a beautiful Saturday for softball, Academy of Art closed out its 2019 campaign with an array of highlights including two home runs from junior infielder Brenna Youngquist to break the program's career record and back-to-back shutouts from both starting pitchers, junior Hannah Rose Balke (8-12) and sophomore Cecilia Lopez (10-7), out at Penguin Field. A one-hitter by Balke was helped by Youngquist's early solo shot and a three-run rally late for the 4-0 game one victory while homers from sophomore catcher Lauryn Henderson and Youngquist in the first two innings of the finale supported Lopez and her four hits allowed.

GAME 1 – ART U 4, Dominican 0
Though Academy of Art had an opportunity to score in the first, it was not until Youngquist's solo homer to lead off the second that the Knights got onto the scoreboard. The shot into center marked her 21st in four years, tying her with Urban Knights legend Alana Aweau for the program record.

Balke, who worked through two on in the first, surrendered her lone hit of the contest in the second inning, but she found her rhythm in the middle innings. From the end of the second to the start of the seventh, she retired 14 consecutive batters while her team provided more run support in the fifth.

Leadoff singles by freshman outfielder Bethany Mitchell and junior infielder Gracie Sotomayor gave way to a three-run rally in that frame. An error would allow the first two runners to score and Youngquist later provided a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-0 ballgame.

Balke remained efficient through the final inning, logging her fourth shutout of the season on total of one hit and two walks with six strikeouts. She ended the year on her eighth victory.

GAME 2 – ART U 2, Dominican 0
Two batters into the season finale, Academy of Art again had the advantage after Henderson struck for her 10th home run of the season, a solo shot, to gain sole possession of the PacWest lead in that category.

After Lopez retired the three Penguins she faced on four pitches, Youngquist crushed another solo homer beyond the centerfield fence to officially break the career record. The team's home run leader for her first three seasons, Youngquist's sixth in 2019 gave her 22 in her career and surpassed an eight-year record.

Lopez would pitch around an error in the second, strike out two in the third, and exited a jam in the fourth unscathed. She went on to retire nine of the last 11 batters, finishing with her third shutout of the year on no four hits, one walk, and with five strikeouts. The victory gave her back-to-back 10-win seasons to start her collegiate career.

Dominican finishes its 2019 campaign at 12-35 overall and 9-26 in PacWest play for ninth-place finish in the conference standings. For a Penguins team that had just five hits on the day, Karitza Reyes connected in both games, finishing 2-for-5.

Concluding its 11th year in existence, Academy of Art ended 20-19 overall and 16-11 in conference play for a sixth-place finish in the PacWest standings. In the final day of her collegiate career, Youngquist was 2-for-5 with her two hits home runs plus three runs batted in and two runs scored. Henderson, who went 2-for-5 with a homer and a double, finished with the program's highest slugging percentage (.802), second-highest on-base percentage (.500), and fourth-highest batting average (.423) in single-season history.