BRISBANE, Calif. – Both sides of Monday's first of two Pacific West Conference doubleheaders between Academy of Art softball and Azusa Pacific went the latter's way even with ART U rallies starting and ending the day. A run-scoring triple by senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen kicked off the Urban Knights' offense though the Cougars later shifted game one toward an eventual 10-1 win. APU built a lead early in game two and, despite four Academy of Art runs over the fourth and fifth innings were highlighted by junior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman's two-run double, held on for the 12-4 victory.

GAME 1 – APU 10, ART U 1 (6)
After sophomore pitcher Jolene Rhoades (0-10) extricated herself from a first inning jam with a strikeout, she was backed up with a pair of extra-base hits by the Knights in the bottom half. Sophomore infielder Haley Randall led off with a double then Rasmussen sped around the bases for her first career triple to put Academy of Art ahead 1-0.

The advantage lasted until the third inning where three hits and an error yielded two runs for APU before a triple and a wild pitch made it 3-1 in the fourth. The Knights drew a walk, an error, and a hit batter all in the fifth, but could not convert and the final two frames of the series opener saw the Cougars push forward to the 10-1 win.

GAME 2 – APU 12, ART U 4 (6)
Attempting to come back against three runs to start the day's finale, Randall and senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson both singled in the bottom of the first. Academy of Art was unable to cash in the runners, however, and Azusa Pacific worked its way to a 10-0 lead by the bottom of the fourth.

A two-out run-scoring single from sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Humphreys got ART U on the scoreboard and, after Rhoades held APU scoreless in the fifth, three hits produced three more runs for the Knights in that inning. Singles from graduate student utility Nina Vallejos and Rasmussen combined with a walk from Rasmussen to load the bases for Mittman who roped a double down the left field line to score a pair. The comeback unfortunately came up short with Azusa Pacific adding two more in the sixth en route to the 12-4 victory.

ART U, now 0-20 overall and 0-6 in conference play, was led by hits in both games from its top three hitters in the lineup in Randall (2-for-6 with two runs scored and a double), Rasmussen (2-for-6 with a RBI, run scored, and a triple), and Henderson (2-for-6 with a run scored). In game two, Mittman finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double while Humphreys added one RBI in her 1-for-3 effort.

Azusa Pacific moves to 11-8 on the season and 5-1 against PacWest opponents with the day's results. Caitlin Decaino went 6-for-8 with two RBIs, three runs scored, and two doubles while Aly Montesino added a 5-for-9 effort with three RBIs, two runs scored, and a homer in the doubleheader. Both with 6.0-inning complete games, Sydnie Sahhar (4-3) finished with the game one victory after allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts before Katie Korstrom (4-1) picked up the second win, finishing with four runs allowed on eight hits and four strikeouts.

The Knights and Cougars will complete their four-game series tomorrow with another noon doubleheader at Mission Blue Field.