LINCOLN, Calif. – The final non-conference matchup of the season pit Academy of Art softball against Jessup at Foskett Regional Park on Wednesday and, with two-run rallies in each game's second inning, the Warriors were able to outlast the Urban Knights 4-1 and 9-2.
GAME 1 – JESSUP 4, ART U 1
First to the scoreboard was Jessup with a two-run single in the second inning, but the Knights would counter shortly thereafter in the third. Sophomore infielder
Audrey Allen opened with a double and soon touched home plate on an error.
Freshman pitcher
Alyssa Fullmer (5-9) held the one-run ballgame until the fourth when a sacrifice fly made it 3-1 then the Warriors scratched another across in the fifth. Both sides were limited to just one total hit in the sixth and seventh frames, ending the contest in Jessup's favor 4-1.
GAME 2 – JESSUP 9, ART U 2
A two-run homer in the opening frame helped the Warriors build a 4-0 advantage by the start of the third inning. Singles by senior outfielder
Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki and senior infielder
Elle Edeker got ART U started in the fourth, helping lead to the Knights first run of the game.
A 7-1 difference for Jessup became 7-2 on senior infielder
Haley Randall's leadoff triple in the sixth followed by an Edeker sacrifice fly, but the home team would rally late to push the 9-2 final.
Academy of Art, now 10-32 overall, was led offensively by Allen's 2-for-5 day that included a double as well as Edeker's 2-for-5 effort with one run batted in. Fullmer ended her 14th collegiate start with just two earned runs on six hits and one walk plus three strikeouts.
The Warriors rise to 33-7 on the year after Olivia Dominguez went 1-for-2 with two RBIs in the first game, Maddy Ybarra and Sarah Giles combined to go 5-for-7 with two RBIs, a homer, and five runs scored, and the pitching tandem of Katie Blankenheim (12-3) and Serena Navarette (7-1) combined to allow just one earned run on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched.
ART U will conclude its 2024 campaign with a Senior Day rematch hosting Dominican from Mission Blue Field on Apr. 26 at noon.