BRISBANE, Calif. – Out at Mission Blue Field for the penultimate time this season, Academy of Art softball saw another program record broken by senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson and had a big comeback opportunity in game two, but Biola prevailed 10-0 and 7-1 in the start of the final Pacific West Conference series on Thursday.

GAME 1 – BU 10, ART U 0 (5)
A leadoff walk was followed by Biola's sacrifice bunt, a groundout, and a single up the middle to put Biola ahead 1-0 in the day's first inning, but after exchanging a scoreless second frame with the Urban Knights, the Eagles logged eight hits in a nine-run third.

After freshman utility Elle Edeker was hit by a pitch, Henderson fouled off two pitches before working the 78th walk of her career to break the program's record. Though the pair reached base, they would be left stranded and ART U's best chance to score in the contest concluded en route to the 10-0 result after five innings.

GAME 2 – BU 7, ART U 1
Both sides got runners to third base in the opening frame of the second game, but neither side would score until the second where a groundout converted the runner from third this time. BU added two more on a single in the third and was up 3-0 moving to the fourth.

There, junior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman led off with a single and junior outfielder Bethany Mitchell later added a single of her own, but a double play would end the threat by Academy of Art. In the fifth inning, however, walks to senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen and Henderson were followed by sophomore infielder Haley Randall reaching base ahead of a wild pitch that allowed one run to score.

In the sixth, sophomore pitcher Jolene Rhoades (6-18), who had tossed two scoreless relief innings in game one, surrendered her first hit since the third, but continued to keep Biola off the scoreboard by inducing a pair of flyouts. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Humphreys singled against BU's Paige Austin (13-5) to begin the sixth, but it would be the final hit for ART U as the Eagles extended their lead in the seventh for a 7-1 victory.

Academy of Art, now 9-42 overall and 6-22 in PacWest play, saw both Mittman and Mitchell go 1-for-3 in the second contest while Humphreys was 1-for-2. Henderson walked four times on the day, stealing a base along with Randall.

Biola elevates to 24-17 on the year and 17-11 in conference action with the day's results. The tandem of Kaitlyn Hawkins and Hailey Paull combined for six runs batted in during game one then two RBIs apiece came from Abie Nowak and Rilee Ruvalcaba in the second contest. Austin earned the game one win then added her second save of the season in game two, finishing with no runs allowed on one hit plus 13 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work. Raylene Roybal (9-8) completed 4.1 innings of the afternoon's finale with one run allowed on two hits, taking home the win despite walking five.

ART U will face off against Biola twice more tomorrow in the regular season's final game for both teams. The series concludes with another noon doubleheader at Mission Blue Field.