IRVINE, Calif. – Out at Eagles Field for the second consecutive day, Academy of Art softball could not get past No. 15 Concordia, falling by scores of 18-0 and 5-1 in Pacific West Conference action on Saturday.
GAME 1 – #15 CUI 18, ART U 0 (5)
After a putting two on via a hit batter and junior infielder
Katie Humphreys' single, Academy of Art was kept from the scoreboard and it would be the Golden Eagles who struck first with seven runs in the day's opening frame. They would go on to plate no fewer than two runs in each of the three innings that followed despite Urban Knights reaching base in the second and third as well. With the completion of the top of the fifth inning, Concordia prevailed 18-0.
GAME 2 – #15 CUI 5, ART U 1
A walk by junior utility
Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki was quickly followed by a double from freshman infielder
Audrey Allen in the first inning of the series finale, but CUI pitching once more locked in to exit the jam. Three Golden Eagles hits then produced one run in the second and another three in the fourth for a 4-0 advantage.
Grayhorse-Pupecki led off the sixth with a double and later scored on a single by Humphreys, but the Knights' comeback would stop there as the home team held on for a 5-1 final.
Academy of Art drops to 7-36 overall and 3-19 in conference action. Hits in both games came from Humphreys who finished 2-for-5 with one run batted in while senior outfielder
Bethany Mitchell, Grayhorse-Pupecki, and Allen each added hits on the day.
Now 37-9 overall and 22-4 in PacWest play, Concordia pushes its win streak to seven games thanks to a five-RBI game one performance from Missy Nemeth followed by two driven in by Sydney Sprinkle in the finale. Rae Flores (7-1) collected the first win with 3.0 scoreless innings, two hits and one walk allowed plus two strikeouts then Callie Nunes (3-2) earned her victory with no runs allowed on one hit and two walks plus eight strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work.
One more series remains for ART U on its Southern California trip as the Knights begin with a pair at Biola on Monday, Apr. 17 at 2 p.m.