Games #19 & 20
ART U (12-6/4-0 PWC) @ Notre Dame de Namur University (8-11/0-4 PWC)
Friday, March 18th at 12:00 pm
Belmont, CA – Notre Dame High School
Games #21 & 22
ART U (12-6/4-0 PWC) vs. BYU Hawaii (4-16/2-6 PWC)
Monday, March 21st at 5:00 pm
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
In the heart of conference play: The Urban Knights now dive straight into conference play with a very challenging schedule lying ahead of them. The women will be playing 12 games in 11 days. ART U first heads to Belmont, CA to face Notre Dame de Namur on Mar. 18th, before returning home to host BYU Hawaii on Monday, Mar. 21. The Knights will then stay home for three more series in which they will host all of the Pacific West Conference Hawaiian schools.
Knight Recap: ART U opened up conference play last week when they battled Dominican University. The Knights came out strong and were too powerful for the Penguins, as they ended up winning all four games. The Knights took the first series with scores of 11-0, and 8-0. The next time the teams faced each other was during ART U's second annual “Swing for a Cause.” The Urban Knights again overpowered Dominican and took that series with scores of 10-2 and 5-2.
Leading the Knights: The women are off to a great start this season. They currently have a 12-6 overall record and are in second place in the conference rankings with a 4-0 record. The team is 3rd in the conference in batting average (.303), and 2nd in ERA (2.19).
Individually, sophomores Andrea Hanchey and Julie Martin lead the team with .378 batting averages. Sophomore Jayme Stewart leads the team with 16 RBI's (5th in the PWC), six doubles, four home runs, and a .679 slugging percentage. On the mound, junior Sierrah Garcia paces her team with a 1.62 ERA, a 6-3 record, and 47 strikeouts in 60 innings (3rd in PWC).
Scouting Notre Dame de Namur University: The Argos have seen much improvement this season. They sit in 8th place in the Conference rankings with a 0-4 PacWest record, but have an 8-11 overall record. The team most recently swept Chaminade University winning 10-5, and 7-5. The Argos have not played since March 7th due to rainy weather. Allissa Castro leads the team with a .418 average including 28 hits, 15 runs, eight doubles, 18 RBI, 44 total bases, has eight stolen bases, and a .459 on base mark. Behind her is Robin Araujo who has a .344 average with six home runs, and a .656 slugging rate. On the mound the team is led by Sammy McConvey who has a 3.79 ERA, a 4-4 record, and 27 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched. This is the first of three meetings between ART U and the Argos this year. The last time the two teams faced each other, back on April 23rd of last season, ART U swept the Argos winning two games to none.
Scouting BYU Hawaii: The Seasiders are having a decent season as they currently have a 4-16 overall record and a 2-6 conference record. They currently sit in sixth place in the conference standings. Ashley Perry leads the team with a .277 batting average including 13 hits, 13 total bases, a .375 on base percentage, and five stolen bases. Noelle Lake also helps her team with a .229 average, two doubles, and three runs batted in. On the mound, Gabrielle Hawkins is doing very well for her team. She leads with a 2.16 ERA, a 3-7 record, and has 53 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. The team most recently fell to Faulkner (AL) on March 14th. Last year when the two teams faced each other, ART U defeated the Seasiders four games to none.
Looking Ahead: The Urban Knights continue hosting the Hawaiian schools when they face Hawaii Hilo on Friday, March 25th at 11:00am. The following day the women host defending National Champs Hawaii Pacific on March 26th, and then conclude their home stand by hosting Chaminade University on Monday, March 28th.
