BRISBANE, Calif. – Dominican softball overcame another late inning collapse to top Academy of Art 9-5 in a nine-inning first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Mission Blue Field.

Leslie Ruiz proved the hero as she went 2-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored and four RBI on a grand slam for the Penguins (12-9, 4-3 PacWest). Annabelle Burke added a 1-for-3 performance from the plate with a home run and 3 RBI. Liberty Herrera homered for the Urban Knights (2-14, 1-2 PacWest) to bring home two runs to lead their offensive production.

A pair of infield singles and an error allowed ART U to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh and tie the game to send it to extras. After a scoreless eighth, Tobola singled to first base before a pair of errors loaded the bases with one out for Ruiz. Ruiz delivered in style as she sent a long line drive over the fence in center field for her first career grand slam to take the 9-5 lead. Hannah Escalante kept the Urban Kninghts scoreless in the bottom of the frame to move to 2-2 on the year.

Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki led off the bottom of the second with a double down the right-field line to put the Urban Knights in scoring position but Torres-Gonzalez struck out the next batter and Kate Tobola secured a pop fly at third to keep her there. It appeared for a moment that ART U would score the first run of the game as a ball passed under the glove of Tobola, but it struck the back ankle of Grayhorse-Pupecki resulting in the final out of the inning.

Morgan Heggstrom worked from behind to draw a lead off walk in the top of the third and Payton Oas entered to run for her. Oas advanced on a sacrifice bunt and a lineout to right field to move into scoring position for Tiare Guerrero. Guerrero singled on a looping ball into shallow left field in front of a diving outfielder to bring home Oas for the 1-0 lead. The Urban Knights looked to close the gap in the bottom of the frame as Lida Wos singled on a bunt down the third-base line. After the Penguins recorded a pair of outs, Riannah Maulupe singled into shallow left to move the runner into scoring position. Audrey Allen stepped to the plate looking to continue a streak of hot hitting in clutch situations against the Penguins but Melissa Garcia tracked a high fly ball to center well and secured the catch for the final out of the inning.

Alyssa Rue doubled to left center to lead off the top of the fourth and Aneesa Brewer reached on an error to bring up Burke with one out. Burke worked her way to a 3-1 count and saw the pitch she had been waiting for turning on it to send a long fly ball over the fence in left field for the 4-0 lead. Liberty Herrera cut the deficit in half as she homered to left field in the bottom of the fourth, but no further damage was done with Torres-Gonzalez striking out the final batter looking to hold the lead heading to the fifth.

After an error put runner on for the Penguins in the top of the sixth, Leslie Ruiz advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a flyout before Taylor Eby singled through the left side to bring her home for the 5-2 lead.

Game Two Recap