BRISBANE, Calif. – Playing its first doubleheader at Mission Blue Field this season on Wednesday, Academy of Art softball pushed No. 14 Cal State Monterey Bay to the limit in a near upset to end the day. Two multi-run rallies propelled the Otters to a 9-0 win after five innings of game one, but the second installment was vastly different. With sophomore pitcher Jolene (0-7) and the ART U defense holding CSUMB scoreless through the final four innings of game two, the Urban Knights scored three times in the sixth inning then brought the winning run to the plate in the seventh, but the visitors held on for the 5-3 victory.

GAME 1 – CSUMB 9, ART U 0 (5)
Though Cal State Monterey Bay loaded the bases with its first three batters of the game, freshman pitcher Julia Jordan (0-6) embraced the challenge and struck out the next two before drawing a lineout to keep the Otters off the scoreboard.

CSUMB, however, capitalized on two errors for a four-run second frame and Academy of Art soon had a chance for a rebuttal as senior catcher Alyssa Brundage led off the bottom half with a single and senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen walked, but the runners were left stranded.

Jordan needed just 11 pitches to get through a scoreless third inning, held off the Otters once again in the fourth, but three hits led to five runs and a 9-0 run in the fifth. Graduate student utility Nina Vallejos notched her second hit of the contest in the fifth though a scoreless frame ended the game.

GAME 2 – CSUMB 5, ART U 3
Cal State Monterey Bay scored five times in the first three innings of the doubleheader's nightcap to appear in control of a sweep, but that was where Rhoades and her teammates combined to keep the Otters' potent lineup off the scoreboard the rest of the way. Nine pitches were needed to retire the side in the fourth, 10 finished the fifth, and the sixth wrapped up in seven, giving ART U momentum moving to the bottom of the sixth.

The bases quickly became loaded as freshman utility Elle Edeker reached on an error, senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson walked, and sophomore infielder Haley Randall singled. Next, sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Humphreys put a ball in play that turned into a two-run error, but the Knights were not done as junior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman delivered a run-scoring single to cap the three-run rally.

After Rhoades shut down CSUMB in the top half, the seventh inning saw Henderson and Randall each single to bring the potential game-winning run to the plate, but the Otters managed to get the final out and avoid the upset in a 5-3 win.

For the Urban Knights, 0-14 overall following the day's results, Vallejos was 2-for-3 in the first contest then Henderson and Randall each had two hits in the finale, combining to go 4-for-7 with two runs scored. Mittman and Humphreys each added one run batted in while Rasmussen walked three times in the doubleheader and stole her second base of the season.

Now 10-3 on the year, Cal State Monterey Bay was led offensively by Alyssa Burt's 3-for-8 day that included four RBIs while Gasper picked up both a win in game one and a save in the second contest after tossing 6.2 scoreless innings with five hits allowed and 10 strikeouts.

The Urban Knights will be back at Mission Blue Field this Sunday to start a four-game series and Pacific West Conference play against No. 3 Concordia with a noon doubleheader.