HAYWARD, Calif. – Out at Pioneer Field on Tuesday afternoon, Academy of Art softball took a pair of tough losses to Cal State East Bay in a non-conference doubleheader. The opening contest saw ART U put runners on in nearly every inning, but CSUEB rallied in both the second and fifth to earn an 8-0 victory. The Urban Knights notched the program's sixth-most stolen bases in program history in the second game with six swipes, but the Pioneers once again had the upper hand, winning 7-1 when the final out was made.

GAME 1 – CSUEB 8, ART U 0 (5)
After reaching on an error to start the day, junior utility Alyssa Rasmussen stood on third base after recording her second steal of the season, but she would be left stranded. Three unearned runs then scored with two errors occurring in the bottom of the second.

Cal State East Bay's 3-0 lead was threatened in the fourth when another error and a walk allowed the tying run to come to the plate, but it was not to be. ART U's offense then offered back-to-back two-out singles by Rasmussen and senior infielder Gracie Sotomayor though the Knights were unable to convert. In the end, the Pioneers broke through for five in the fifth, triggering the run-rule and earning them an 8-0 win.

GAME 2 – CSUEB 7, ART U 1
In a sign of things to come, when Sotomayor reached base in the first inning, she promptly stole second. However, neither side ended up scoring until the second when an unearned run crossed the plate for Cal State East Bay following two hits and an error.

Academy of Art later had senior outfielder Gabi Hirsch and Sotomayor swipe a pair of bases en route to loading them in the third and freshman infielder Haley Randall added another steal in the fourth yet the runners were left stranded in both instances. CSUEB went up 2-0 after a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but Hirsch's legs made things happen in the fifth as she hit a leadoff single, stole second, reached third on an error, then scored on a wild pitch to halve the Pioneers' lead.

The fifth inning proved just as dangerous in the second game, however, because Cal State East Bay strung together three more runs on five hits to move in front 5-1. Two more crossed in the sixth and the home team went on to capture a 7-1 victory.

Academy of Art, who moves to 1-6 overall this season, saw Sotomayor extend her reached base streak to three games after a 1-for-3 performance in the first game and a walk plus a career-high three stolen bases (tied for second in program history) in the second. Hirsch was 1-for-2 with a run scored and two steals in the day's finale.

Cal State East Bay rises to 3-8 overall in 2020, getting single-game multi-RBI performances from Emilie Portesi, Jocelyn Baldon, and Jeana Gonzales.

One week from today on Tuesday, Feb. 18, ART U will face SF State in an 11 a.m. doubleheader at SFSU Softball Field.