GAME #37-40
Academy of Art (11-25, 6-14 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific (22-16, 10-10 PacWest)
Friday, April 18 at 6:00 PM (DH)
Saturday, April 19 at 2:00 PM (DH)
Oakland, CA -- Laney College
Live Stats

LEADING OFF
Continuing their trend of winning games with a flair for the dramatic, the Academy of Art University baseball team walked off for their second time in three days with an extra-inning win over St. Katherine College. The Urban Knights jumped out to a big lead on Monday afternoon, but mistakes proved costly as the Firebirds came back to tie, sending it all the way to the 11th before Daniel Robertson stroked the game-winning hit and giving the Knights a 3-3 split of the six-game weekend. 
 
SUNBIRDS SWOOP IN FOR SERIES
Fresno Pacific is sitting in a tie for fifth place in the conference right now with a 10-10 record, but are 22-16 on the ear, one of five teams this year in the PacWest who have notched over 20 wins. They won the final three games of a series at home against Point Loma, sweeping a doubleheader over the Sea Lions on April 12. FPU is led on offense by the reigning PacWest Player of the Week and current batting title leader Kaohu Gaspar, who is hitting a torrid .420 on the season. Wilson Ashford (4-1, 1.99 ERA) and J.D. Salles (3-5, 2.29 ERA) are leading the way on the mound for the Sunbirds.

KNIGHTS HONOR FIVE ON SENIOR DAY
The Urban Knights will honor five senior leaders before Saturday's game, as it will mark the final home game of their careers. Corner infielder Ryan Ramirez (Multimedia Communications) nailed down the third-base position this season and bounced back with a .265 average this year, heating up as the second half of the year came around and launching four career homers, the most on the current roster. Kalani Brackenridge (Multimedia Communications) ends his two-year career chasing many of the Knights top records, within reach of the career mark for hits and the single-season marks for hits, doubles, and steals. Third baseman/designated hitter Dante Redhead (Multimedia Communications), a member of the Preseason All-PacWest Team, has also seen his production rebound in the second half of the year.

Catcher Kevin Decker (Multimedia Communications) improved his batting average almost 100 points from his first to his second year, and has proved a boon to the pitching staff, throwing out five would-be basestealers and holding on to a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage. Finally, Aaron Garabedian (Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media) has proved himself to be one of the best pitchers in ART U history, posting the best career ERA (4.19) and ranking second on the all-time wins list. His 2.97 ERA in 2013 was the lowest ever by an Urban Knight. The Knights wish all of their seniors the best in their future endeavors!

WHAT'S ON DECK
After playing their final home game, the Academy of Art will play a four game set next week at California Baptist from April 24-26 before finishing up the year with a pair of doubleheaders against against Point Loma Nazarene University on May 2-3.