Dominican University took one giant leap for Penguin-kind after sweeping the Academy of Art in Saturday's doubleheader, moving one very important step closer to a berth in the conference postseason tournament. 

"It was awesome," senior Mady Christensen said. "We worked as a team really well today. Usually, some people get hits and some people don't, but every single person that went to the plate had a hit today and everybody put themselves in a position to do something for the team."

Senior Alyssa Ramirez led the way for Dominican, going a team-high 3-for-7 while also earning both Penguin RBIs in game one. Christensen went 2-for-6 while knocking in three home runs off a momentum-swinging long ball in the second game of the doubleheader, helping give Dominican sweep.

Sophomore Shelby Keltner (7-7) and Junior Kathryn Carvalho (4-3) each earned wins for Dominican on the afternoon. Keltner needed just 85 pitches as she cruised through game one, allowing five hits while walking no batters. She allowed only one run as she threw a a complete game and earned her seventh victory of the season. Carvalho was charged with three of the Urban Knights' six runs in game two, allowing five hits while walking four through five innings of work. 

Game One

The Urban Knights got on the board early when a Lauryn Henderson double brought home Cailee Greyhorse-Pupecki. The third batter of the game would also mark the last time that the Academy of Art registered a run in game one as Keltner's dominant pitching kept the Urban Knights dormant for the remainder of the opening matchup. 

Sophomore Celeste Salas would get things started in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single. Sophomore Faith Erb came into the game to pinch run for Salas but was called out at second on a fielder's choice that brought freshman Mckenna Daley to first. Daley stole second before being advanced to third by an infield single courtesy of junior Vanessa Porto, with Porto also tapping into her inner klepto as she too stole second. Ramirez made no mistake with the runners in scoring position as she sent a two-out single up the middle to bring in both runners, giving Dominican a 2-1 lead. 

The third and final Penguin point came in the ensuing inning when Salas sent a ball towards the Urban Knights shortstop who committed a throwing error as she tried to catch Salas at first, an error that advanced Salas all the way to third base. Christensen was on first base prior to Salas' at-bat thanks to single she hit to center field, so the throwing error would allow her to come all the way home, giving Dominican a 3-1 lead.

Superb fielding kept Dominican in charge as a stellar as sophmore Lauren Lapinid defensive play ended the fifth inning. A ball was hit to the gap between shortstop and second base, a gap that was soon closed as Lapinid made a diving effort to stop the ball from reaching the outfield. From her stomach, Lapinid flipped the ball directly out of her glove and into the mitt of Christensen at second base, recording the inning-ending out, helping Dominican walk away from game one with a 3-1 victory. 

"I always expect the ball, my coaches taught me that," Lapinid said. "Knowing that it's going to be coming to me, usually fast, I just charge that ball and make the easy outs."

Game Two

In what can only be described as an immaculate event, Dominican earned a 7-6 come-from-behind victory after allowing six runs through the first four innings. 

Much like the first game, the Urban Knights found the board in the first inning, this time earning its first run after a leadoff single that was followed by a Grayhorse-Pupecki RBI double. A quick pitching change was prompted after the next batter watch, bringing Senior Alyssa Waltman to the pitcher's circle in place of Carvalho. Two more runs would cross home plate thanks to a pair of RBI doubles with runners on, giving the Academy of Art a 3-0 lead after the first inning. 

Bethany Mitchell tallied a triple to right-center for the Urban Knights in the top of the second before being brought home by the next batter, increasing their lead to 4-0. The Academy of Art added another run in the third when Henderson sent a ball clear over the outfield fence to leadoff the inning, with Mitchell adding the sixth and final Urban Knight run in the top of the fourth when she reached home plate after a fielding error on the Penguin defense. 

Cue the bats. 

The Penguins greeted the Urban Knights pitchers with seven consecutive hits to start the fourth inning before the Academy of Art could record an out. Ramirez led off with a single to right field followed by a single courtesy of junior Peyton Mott through the left side before she was advanced to second base on a throwout attempt on Ramirez at third base. Lapinid hit a single to right field to clear the bases and give Dominican its first two runs, while sophomore Shelby Cefalu notched a double that advanced Lapinid to third. With two on, Christensen decided there was no time to waste as she swung at the first pitch during the next at bat, sending a no-doubter over the the left field fence, her first of the season, brining in three more runs for Dominican as the Urban Knights were left looking for answers while Dominican continued to lessen the 6-run gap, now trailing by just one. 

Salas kept the hit parade going with a single through the right side before being subbed out for an eager Erb who quickly stole second base, putting herself in scoring position. A successful Daley delivery, this time by bunt, placed her on first base while Erb advanced to third, prompting a pitching change for the Academy of Art. Daley stole second to put two runners in scoring position before Porto knocked her in with a groundout to the second baseman, bring the score even at 6-6. Waltman gave Dominican the lead in the next at bat after reaching first on a fielder's choice that would also bring Erb home, giving Dominican a 7-6 lead. Consecutive outs concluded the inning for the Urban Knights but not before the damage was long but done as the Penguins tallied seven runs in the inning to storm back from what seemed like an insurmountable deficit. 

"Coming out of that inning, I'll tell you what — it felt fantastic," head coach Julianna Santo said. "hitting is contagious, and our team doesn't give up. When they faced adversity this year, they've never given up. They fought back today. I don't think I've ever seen that, seven back-to-back hits to start an inning with no outs. Doing all of that with no outs, that was pretty awesome."

Carvalho was dealing through the ensuing innings, allowing just one hit as Dominican cruised to a sweep of the double-header, earning its second victory by a score of 7-6. 

The Penguins now look ahead to next weekend as they play four games against Holy Names University to complete its conference schedule.