BRISBANE, Calif. – Dominican softball let two tight contests slip away late as Academy of Art University took both contests of a doubleheader 2-1 and 6-3 Saturday at Mission Blue Field. 

Despite the two losses on the day, junior outfielder McKenzie Schumacher continued to be a consistent spark for the Penguins (10-33, 7-24 PacWest), going 2-for-3 in the first contest with one run. Freshman outfielder Peyton Mott also contributed offensively, going 1-for-3 with an RBI in game one, while senior catcher Alexis Chinchilla recorded a 1-for-3 performance in game two with a run and an RBI.

Hannah Rose Balke limited Dominican to four hits in the first game while teammate Cecilia Lopez continued the strong performance from inside the circle in the second game, allowing three runs off three hits for the Urban Knights (18-19, 14-11 PacWest). Lauryn Henderson powered ART U's offense with a 3-for-6 day at the plate, with a walk, two runs and two RBI. 

Game one

Schumacher helped the Penguins strike first in the top of the first inning as she singled to right field and stole second to quickly move into scoring position. Mott wasted no time and singled to center on a two-strike count to bring in Schumacher for the 1-0 advantage. 

The Urban Knights finally broke through on the offensive end in the bottom of the fourth as Henderson homered to dead center to leadoff the frame and tie the game. ART U kept the momentum rolling as Brenna Youngquist doubled over Schumacher's head in center field, and Alyssa Brundage came through with a 2-out single up the middle to score pinch-runner Alyssa Rasmussen for the 2-1 lead. Balke retired the next nine Penguin batters in a row to seal the victory. 

Game Two

The Urban Knights continued to ride the momentum into game two as Youngquist led off the bottom of the second with a single through the left side. Pinch runner Rasmussen advanced to second on a failed pick-off attempt from Chinchilla and Nikki West doubled to left with two outs to give ART U the 1-0 advantage. 

Youngquist sparked the Urban Knights once again with a single up the middle in the bottom of the fourth. Brundage doubled down the left-field line to move her to third and West walked to load the bases with one out. Gracie Sotomayer singled to center to score Youngquist to extend the lead to 2-0, but the Penguins escaped the jam on a fielder's choice at the plate and Alyssa Waltman chased down a pop up on the third-base line.

Dahlen Dennis was hit by a pitch and Alyssa Ramirez singled to get Dominican on the base paths for the first time of the game in the top of the fifth. Chinchilla then doubled down the left-field line to score one and cut the deficit to one. Waltman laid down a squeeze bunt that caught ART U defense off guard, allowing Ramirez to score with Waltman reaching first safely. Kathryn Caravalho followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Chinchilla from third for the 3-2 lead. A pair of walks followed by a single from Brundage allowed the Urban Knights to quickly tie the game in the bottom of the frame.

After the Penguins retired the first two batters of the sixth, Gabi Hirsch reached on a fielding error to prolong the inning and ART U took advantage. Dom Seva'aetasi tripled to left center to make it 4-3 and Henderson kept the rally going with a single to left field to score Seva'aetasi. Youngquist drew a walk to load the bases, and a wild pitch brought across Henderson for the 6-3 lead.

The Penguins will look to bounce back Monday as they face Holy Names University in their last home stand of the season. First pitch is scheduled for noon PDT. Live stats will be available online.