Games #27 & 28
ART U Urban Knights (12-14, 6-8 PWC) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (9-13, 3-9 PWC)
Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #29 & 30
ART U Urban Knights (12-14, 6-8 PWC) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (9-13, 3-9 PWC)
Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 10 a.m. & Noon
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #31 & 32
ART U Urban Knights (12-14, 6-8 PWC) vs. Hawaii Pacific Sharks (12-10, 5-7 PWC)
Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Game 33
ART U Urban Knights (12-14) vs. Simon Fraser Clan (7-11)
Friday, March 31, 2017 at 2 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park Field 3
Live Stats

Game #34
ART U Urban Knights (12-14) vs. Western Washington Vikings (12-8)
Friday, March 31, 2017 at 4:30 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park Field 3
Live Stats

Game #35
ART U Urban Knights (12-14) vs. Western Oregon Wolves (10-9)
Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 9 a.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park Field 2
Live Stats

Game #36
ART U Urban Knights (12-14) vs. Central Washington Wildcats (14-5)
Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 11:30 a.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park Field 5
Live Stats

Game #37
ART U Urban Knights (12-14) vs. Montana State Billings Yellowjackets (12-17)
Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 9 a.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Warrior Softball Field
Live Stats

Game #38
ART U Urban Knights (12-14) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay Otters (19-4)
Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 11:30 a.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Warrior Softball Field
Live Stats

Games #39 & 40
ART U Urban Knights (12-14, 6-8 PWC) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (2-20, 0-12 PWC)
Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

KNIGHTS EMBARK UPON 14 GAMES OVER 10 DAYS
Following a busy eight-game roadtrip through Southern California, Academy of Art University softball now finds itself set for quite a bit of action over the next two weeks. After hosting UH Hilo this weekend and Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday, the Urban Knights enter into six games in three days at Stanislaus State's Tournament of Champions in Turlock, then returns home to face Chaminade before taking its first three-plus non-gameday breath.

FIRST PITCH
ART U challenges UH Hilo in a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 25 and a 10 a.m. twinbill on Sunday, Mar. 26 at Mission Blue Field then hosts HPU on Wednesday, Mar. 29 again at noon. Two days later, the Knights begin the Tournament of Champions with a 2 p.m. matchup against Simon Fraser then get Western Washington at 4:30 p.m. both at Pedretti Park Field 3. Day two sees Western Oregon (9 a.m. at Pedretti Park Field 2) and Central Washington (11:30 a.m. at Pedretti Park Field 5) then the finale features Montana State Billings (9 a.m.) and Cal State Monterey Bay (11:30 a.m.) at Warrior Softball Field. After just a single day off, Academy of Art will take on Chaminade at noon back at Mission Blue Field. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. Also check out the Tournament of Champions Homepage.

KNIGHT WATCH
Currently third in the Pacific West Conference in doubles (43), the Urban Knights are led by three hitters batting over .300 (based on minimum 40 at-bats). Infielder Freddie Carrillo has 24 hits in her first 67 at-bats for a team-high .358 average that ranks 13th in the conference. She also paces ART U with eight doubles (tied for third in PacWest). Leading one of five teams that have 40+ stolen bases this season, senior outfielder Jessica West's nine thefts pair with her seven doubles and a .338 batting average that is top 25 in the conference. Finally, freshman infielder Gracie Sotomayor, who has seven multi-hit games thus far, comes in hitting .341 with six doubles and a team-best 14 runs batted in (23rd in PacWest).

Freshman pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (9-5) has the fifth-most strikeouts in the PacWest (57) across the fourth-most innings pitched (86.0). Her earned run average (2.85) is on pace for top-four in program single-season history and she remains fourth in the conference in wins with nine to date.

ALOHA HILO
UH Hilo emerged 6-4 from its first two non-conference tournaments of the year, but started PacWest play 1-6 after taking just one of four from Concordia and being swept by Azusa Pacific. The Vulcans are 10th in the conference. Mari Kawano and Bailey Gaspar share the team-lead in batting average (.357) and have combined for 20 RBIs plus 27 runs scored while Cyanne Fernandez (1-3) boasts the lowest ERA on the team (2.94). Historically, Hilo holds a 10-8 lead on ART U.

SHARKS IN THE WATER
Just behind Academy of Art in the standings, Hawaii Pacific has played 20 of 22 games at home and is 10-10 in those contests. The Sharks lost series to APU and California Baptist, split with Concordia and Dixie State, and will play Dominican on Mar. 26-27 prior to facing the Knights. Sienna Santiago offers a team-high .400 batting average with nine steals while Emiliee Leonard (4-3) comes in with the third-lowest ERA in the PacWest (1.11). HPU is 17-5 all-time against the Knights.

CLASH WITH THE CLAN
In Hawaii to start the year, Simon Fraser defeated BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade, but was swept by HPU. The Clan went 3-5 to start Great Northwest Athletic Conference play and has Northwest Nazarene (Mar. 25) and Western Washington (Mar. 26) prior to its Tournament of Champions opener against ART U. Taylor Lundrigan's .467 batting average, five homers, and 16 RBIs make her the main offensive threat and Tori Belton (4-5) is the ERA leader (4.25) among regular starters. Having met periodically in tournaments thus far, SFU leads ART U 2-1 historically.

WESTERN WASHINGTON WATCH
The Vikings began their season in Hawaii and won six of their first eight games with losses only to Chaminade and California Baptist. Even in GNAC play through 10 games, Western Washington will face SFU (Mar. 26), Stanislaus State (Mar. 28) and Sonoma State (Mar. 30) before taking on the Knights in the Tournament of Champions. Batting .509 with eight homers and 26 RBIs, Emily Benson is an unparalleled talent for WWU and Shearyna Labasan (4-2) has been strong with a 2.96 ERA in six starts. Western Washington is 4-1 versus Academy of Art previously.

WOLVES WAITING
Western Oregon went 2-3 in the Desert Stinger then started a six-game win streak in Hawaii, but has won just one of its first four games in GNAC action, topping Montana State Billings 19-18 in eight innings. The Wolves are set to take on Central Washington (Mar. 25) and Saint Martin's (Mar. 26) as well as Holy Names and UC San Diego on the first day of the Tournament of Champions prior to facing ART U. Kelsie Gardner (.464) and Destiny Kuehl (.410) are WOU's top two hitters, combining for 26 RBIs and over 40 runs scored while Sammi Cadwallader (4-0) is undefeated in seven starts with a 2.72 ERA. All-time, Western Oregon is 2-1 against the Knights.

INTEL ON CENTRAL
The one GNAC team with extended history versus Academy of Art, Central Washington was 6-3 through its first two non-conference tournaments and bounced back from a loss in its conference opener with seven straight wins. Before ART U, the Wildcats get WOU (Mar. 25), Concordia Portland (Mar. 26), and Stanislaus State (Mar. 29) prior to Cal State San Bernardino and Holy Names in the Tournament of Champions. Kailyn Campbell is hitting .536 through her first 19 games with six homers and 22 driven in and Kiana Wood (6-1) offers a 2.38 ERA through 53.0 innings of work. The Knights' current three-game losing streak to CWU has put the Wildcats ahead 5-4 in the all-time series.

FOOTING THE BILL
Despite going 4-9 to start the year, Montana State Billings started GNAC play with a split against WWU, three of four wins versus Concordia Portland, a sweep at Saint Martin's' hand and three of four from WOU to become 8-8 thus far. A matchup with Minot State (Mar. 26) comes before the Tournament of Champions which features UCSD, Cal State San Bernardino, SF State, and Dominican before ART U. The Yellowjackets are led by Heather Tracy's .477 batting average and Cameron Cassinelli's 10 homers plus 37 RBIs while Maddy Lincoln (8-7) offers a 4.86 ERA in 14 starts. The Knights and MSUB have faced one another just three times previously and the  Yellowjackets are up 2-1 to date.

OTTERS ATOP CCAA
No. 18 Cal State Monterey Bay has dominated through its first 23 games of the year, posting 19 wins with numerous double-digit run totals. Averaging nearly seven runs per game to start, CSUMB has only fallen to Western Oregon, Sonoma State, and Cal State San Bernardino thus far. Series with Stanislaus State and Cal State San Marcos are on tap plus matchups against Saint Martin's, NDNU, and three PacWest Hawaii schools in the Tournament of Champions prior to the finale with ART U. Three Otters are hitting over .400 led by Jayme Stark (.477) and Hayley Fein (11-3) has a 1.82 ERA through her first 15 starts and 88.2 innings pitched. CSUMB is 5-1 all-time against ART U.

SWORDPLAY
Chaminade finds itself last in the PacWest standings through the first third of the conference season. The Silverswords opened with wins against Western Washington and Simon Fraser, but entered into what has been more than 15 consecutive losses all on their home field. On their first trip to the mainland, CUH faces Holy Names, NDNU, six CCAA teams in the Tournament of Champions, and Dominican prior to meeting ART U on Apr. 4. Rainelle Matsuoka is hitting a team-best .362 and Luana Moreno (0-10) sports a 4.56 ERA to lead the pitching staff. In 22 previous meetings, the Knights are 16-6 against the Swords.

CONCORDIA TAKES SERIES WITH FINAL TWO WINS
Academy of Art University softball's PacWest Conference Southern California roadtrip came to an end on Mar. 19 and did so with Concordia sweeping a doubleheader. The Eagles' established three-run leads through the first two innings of each contest and would go on to keep the Urban Knights off the scoreboard, winning 3-0 and 9-0.

LOOKING AHEAD
The final three weeks of PacWest action begin with ART U at Holy Names on Apr. 9 then hosting the Hawks on Apr. 15.