Games #3 & 4
ART U Urban Knights (0-2) vs. Sonoma State Seawolves (0-0)
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Rohnert Park, CA – Seawolf Field
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video (tentative)

Game #5
ART U Urban Knights (0-2) vs. University of Mary Marauders (0-0)
Friday, February 8, 2013 at 11:30 AM
Las Vegas, NV – Majestic Park (Field 3)

Game #6
ART U Urban Knights (0-2) vs. Central Washington Wildcats (0-0)
Friday, February 8, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Las Vegas, NV – Majestic Park (Field 4)

Game #7
ART U Urban Knights (0-2) vs. Black Hills State Yellow Jackets (0-0)
Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 11:30 AM
Las Vegas, NV – Majestic Park (Field 8)

Game #8
ART U Urban Knights (0-2) vs. Western New Mexico Mustangs (0-6)
Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Las Vegas, NV – Majestic Park (Field 8)

Game #9
ART U Urban Knights (0-2) vs. New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls (2-2)
Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Las Vegas, NV – Majestic Park (Field 7)

URBAN KNIGHTS MEET SONOMA STATE, DELVE INTO DESERT STINGER
After opening the season with a tough series at Humboldt State this past Saturday, Academy of Art University Softball matches up with yet another member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) this Wednesday in Sonoma State. From there, ART U is set to make its fourth consecutive appearance at the 2013 Desert Stinger in Las Vegas where a variety of opponents await. Find the Desert Stinger homepage complete with history and schedule here.

FIRST PITCH
At Sonoma State's Seawolf Field on Wednesday, Feb. 6, ART U opens the week with a 12:00 PM doubleheader in Rohnert Park, CA. The Knights then head to Las Vegas, NV for the three-day event that is the 2013 Desert Stinger hosted by Montana State-Billings at Majestic Park. On the first day, Friday, Feb. 8, Academy of Art takes on the University of Mary at 11:30 AM on Field 3 then faces Central Washington on Field 4 at 2:00 PM. On Saturday, Feb. 9, Academy of Art is in action against Black Hills State at 11:30 AM on Field 8 and then meets Western New Mexico on the same field at 2:00 PM. ART U will conclude the tournament with one final game on Sunday, Feb. 10 against New Mexico Highlands on Field 7 at 2:00 PM. Live Stats, Live Audio, and Live Video (tentative) will be available for the Sonoma State series while updates will appear on the @ARTU_Knights Twitter as soon as results come in from the Desert Stinger. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Just two games into the season, there are already a pair of Urban Knights who have home runs to their name. It just so happens that that name is the same. Freshmen Shelby Gill and Andrea Gill each went deep in one of the games against Humboldt with Shelby registering a three-run shot and Andrea going solo. The first career homers for each of these athletes also came at significant moments as Shelby's brought ART U to within one run late and Andrea's gave Academy of Art a one-run advantage. Additionally, sophomore Haily MacDonald has the team's lone double thus far after having gone 2-for-6 in the series. Junior Elyse Cordova, a Preseason All-PacWest Team selection, has one stolen base in 2013 as she looks to build upon her place as the program's career steals leader.

In the circle, senior Kimberly Dauer (0-1) hung tough in her first start of the season, throwing a complete 6.0 innings with four runs and five hits allowed. A key reliever in the opening series, sophomore Kristin Valdivia threw 2.1 scoreless innings while striking out a pair.

SEAWOLVES EMBARK UPON FRESH SEASON
After going 36-19 overall and  reaching the West 1 Regional segment of the NCAA DII Tournament last season, Sonoma State enters 2013 returning seven starters for fourth-year head coach Jennifer Bridges. One of those is two-time All-American pitcher Samantha Lipperd, the nation's strikeout leader (396) from a season ago. Additionally, SSU returns two of its top offensive performers in Hayley Condon (.337, 17 RBI) and Ancia Purdy (.335, 37 R).  The Seawolves finished the 2012 regular season on an eight-game win streak (sweeping Cal State Stanislaus and SF State) before a 1-0 victory over #21 Chico State started their post-season in the NCAA West 1 Regional Tournament. However, losses to #10 Cal State Dominguez Hills and Grand Canyon ended their run.

MARAUDERS MAKING THEIR MOVE
The University of Mary, who put up a 26-19 overall mark in 2012 and ended up finishing 5th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), was just shy of a NCAA Tournament bid last year. The Marauders sustained losses to Minnesota Duluth and Wayne State in the NSIC Tournament to end their 2012 campaign. Head coach Angelena Mexicano begins her third season with U-Mary after two years of helping the program to winning records. Jessica Alvarado, the team's top offensive producer, returns for her senior season after a junior campaign that saw her hit .352 with 12 stolen bases. Erin Keen, the Marauders' #2 starter last season, comes off 114.2 innings pitched, 10 wins, and a 3.30 ERA in her freshman year.

WILDCATS LYING IN WAIT
At 19-29 overall last season, Central Washington wound up claiming 5th place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) after splitting its final three series of the year. At last year's Desert Stinger, the Wildcats went 1-4 before taking three of four from Northwest Nazarene. Perhaps the toughest part of the season ensued in which CWU went 10-20 before a stronger finish. In her third season at the helm, head coach Mallory Holtman-Fletcher's squad returns a pair of top offensive players, Heidy Wells (.343) and Elena Carter (.341, 21 RBIs), along with Maria Gau, who finished with a team-high 11 wins and 121 strikeouts in 30 appearances and 163.0 innings pitched.

HILLY TERRAIN FOR THE YELLOW JACKETS IN 2012
Finishing the 2012 season at 8-40 overall, Black Hills State ended up at the bottom of the 14-team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The Yellow Jackets fought through a rough 15-game losing streak amid conference play and their last win of the year came on Apr. 21 (9-4 over Regis).  Head coach Amy Gurney, who enters her fifth season at BHSU's helm, brings back a mixture of offensive and defensive threats. Nia Shumpert, who broke out to hit .316 and steal 10 bases as a freshman, will join Allie Alverson, the team's doubles leader (10) and a .305 hitter with 26 RBIs. Filling the gap left by Katie Wagner (193.2 innings pitched, 31 starts), Nikki Chacon is the top returning hurler, but offers just 55.0 IP and an 8.40 ERA.

NEW PERSONNEL FOR WESTERN NEW MEXICO
One of a few teams to have played games this season, Western New Mexico opened with six losses to Grand Canyon and Midwestern State as part of GCU's Kickoff Tournament. Last season, the Mustangs finished 13th in the RMAC with a 16-37 overall record. For sixth-year head coach Angela Corliss, WNMU brings back Preseason All-RMAC Team member Stephanie Higgins who hit .349 with 18 doubles and 45 RBIs as a freshman with the program. This year, Higgins has lived up to the hype, batting .450 thus far with a pair of doubles in the six games. Defensively, only Arriel Smith returns after going 7-17 in 44 games last year, but she is joined by a trio of new hurlers including Amber Taynton, a junior transfer from Western Arizona College.

NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
After stomaching a pair of losses to Southwestern Oklahoma State on Feb. 2, New Mexico Highlands came right back and swept the next day's doubleheader to sit at 2-2 overall this season. Second-year head coach Shellie Broyles saw her team go 26-28 overall last season to finish 11th in the RMAC standings after struggling on the road. The Cowgirls went 2-3 in the 2012 Desert Stinger, defeating Upper Iowa and Minot State in the process. Among those returning for NMHU is shortstop Brittany Potter who earned a Preseason All-RMAC Team honor after leading the team in a host of offensive categories last year including RBIs (48), runs (39), and home runs (12). Thus far in 2013, Potter is hitting .533 with two homers and nine RBIs. In the circle, returner Jessica Brink (2-1) has thrown all but 3.1 innings this season and sports a 2.47 ERA with 13 strikeouts.

HUMBOLDT DEALS ART U OPENING DAY DEFEATS
Opening its 2013 season at Humboldt State, the Academy of Art University softball team took a pair of tough losses to the Humboldt State Lumberjacks at HSU Softball Field on Saturday afternoon. The teams battled through a pitchers' duel in the first game before the Jacks managed to push four across midway through and outlast an ART U comeback to eventually win 4-3. In game two, a close 2-2 battle early was broken open when Humboldt rallied in the bottom of the second, eventually winning 17-2 in five innings.

LOOKING AHEAD
After having played its first nine games on the road, Academy of Art makes its first appearance at home on Friday, Feb. 15 for the first pair of a four-game series with Pacific West Conference opponent UH Hilo. This series is composed of 12:00 PM doubleheaders on each day (Feb. 15-16) at Mission Blue Field in Brisbane, CA.