KANEHOE, Hawaii – Another eighth-inning home run, this one from junior outfielder Bethany Mitchell, gave Academy of Art softball the jolt it needed for a split on a less weather-impacted first day of its Pacific West Conference series with Hawaii Pacific. Howard A. Okita Field was Friday's backdrop for strong pitching by the Urban Knights to set up a tie that was eventually broken by Mitchell's blast en route to a 6-4 victory in game one. The Sharks would then produce multiple single-run rallies in the second game's later stages for a 3-0 win to close out the afternoon.

GAME 1 – ART U 6, HPU 4 (8)
After the game's first six batters were retired in order, Academy of Art started to put a threat together in the second inning with senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson's leadoff walk. Two outs and a hit batter later, it was sophomore outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki who sent the first pitch she saw into the left center gap for a two-run double. While HPU would get one back in their half of the frame, it was still a 2-1 lead for the Knights through three innings.

A one-out single from Mitchell was followed by a stolen base to set up senior catcher Alyssa Brundage for the scoring opportunity in the fourth. She obliged by delivering her teammate on a single to make it 3-1 ART U. That rally was countered by Hawaii Pacific, however, as the Sharks scored on three consecutive bases-loaded singles to assume a 4-3 advantage.

Much like the fourth, the fifth inning saw senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen single then steal her way into scoring position for Henderson to bring her home on a game-tying single. It was Henderson's 100th run batted in of her career. Junior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (1-12) then used just four pitches to retire the Sharks in order in a shutdown effort, preserving the 4-4 tie.
 
Though both teams had runners in scoring position in their respective halves of the seventh, a key defensive play between freshman utility Elle Edeker and sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Humphreys highlighted the inning as they combined to get a runner at third after a sacrifice bunt. The ensuing eighth inning saw that momentum carry forward as Mitchell began by blasting the second home run of her career, a solo shot, over the left field fence. Not done there, a walk by Brundage followed and soon Edeker provided a run-scoring single to right to make it a 6-4 ballgame which would be maintained defensively for the victory.

Picking up the win was sophomore pitcher Jolene Rhoades (5-14), who had tossed a pair of scoreless innings beginning with the sixth before Arnold-Jolley returned to secure the first save of her career. The pair combined to allow just two earned runs in 8.0 innings of work.

GAME 2 – HPU 3, ART U 0
A pitchers' duel early, Arnold-Jolley opened game two by tossing three scoreless innings with no hits allowed in the first or third frames. The Sharks threatened in the second, but it was not until the fourth that they got onto the scoreboard with a run-scoring double following a single.

Hawaii Pacific's only hit of the fifth inning was a single that brought in another run and a double in the sixth added on to make it 3-0. One of the Knights' best chances came in the seventh when Mitchell drew a one-out walk, Brundage singled behind her, and two runners were suddenly in scoring position after a wild pitch. Though the potential tying run would then step to home plate, HPU managed to get the final outs it needed for a 3-0 victory.

Splitting the day, Academy of Art moves to 7-34 on the year and 4-14 in PacWest play. Mitchell ended the opening contest 2-for-4 with the homer, one RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base while Grayhorse-Pupecki was 1-for-3 with two driven in. Henderson and Brundage logged hits in both games, going 3-for-6 and 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored apiece. Arnold-Jolley finished the day with just three earned runs allowed over 10.0 innings pitched.

For the now 18-26 overall and 11-15 in conference action Sharks, Brandi Leong went 4-for-9 with one RBI and a double while Malia Torres (9-12) picked up a win in the second contest after tossing one relief inning in the first, contributing to a total of 8.0 scoreless innings with seven hits allowed.

The four-game series between ART U and HPU will conclude tomorrow with the opening contest once again starting at noon HT (3 p.m. PT).