Games #49 & 50
ART U Urban Knights (25-23, 17-13 PWC) vs. No. 24 DSU Trailblazers (37-12, 22-8 PWC)
Saturday, Apr. 29, 2017 at Noon & 2 p.m. MT (11 a.m.& 1 p.m. PT)
St. George, Utah – Karl Brooks Softball Field
Live Stats

ART U FACES TRAILBLAZERS IN SEASON FINALE
Winners of eight of their last 10 games, the Urban Knights are set to encounter a No. 24 Dixie State team in Utah for Academy of Art's final regular season games this weekend.

FIRST PITCH
ART U will take on No. 24 DSU this Saturday, Apr. 29 at the Trailblazers' Karl Brooks Field. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for noon MT (11 a.m. PT). 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.

KNIGHT WATCH
Academy of Art remains second in the PacWest with a .317 batting average (the highest in program history thus far), 79 doubles (five from tying the program's single-season record), and 83 stolen bases (three from tying the program's single-season record). Once again, six ART U batting averages all are over .325 (based on minimum 40 at-bats), led by freshman infielder Freddie Carrillo's .400 clip (tied for fifth in PacWest). Senior outfielder Jessica West is just two doubles (14) from tying the program record set by Lauren Stover in 2012 and three walks (31) from tying Ashley Lokey's single-season record set in 2010. In nine of her last 12 games, she has at least one run batted in and she has scored at least one run in nine of her last 13 contests. She is hitting .358 with 17 steals (tied for eighth in PacWest) and continues to build upon the program's career walks record (72).

Sophomore outfielder Juliana Lopez is hitting .344 with multi-hit games in three of her last four and a nine-game hitting streak has freshman utility Dominique Seva'aetasi up to a .338 batting average. Sophomore infielder Brenna Youngquist is hitting .333 with three home runs and 24 RBIs while freshman infielder Gracie Sotomayor offers a .325 batting average with 11 doubles (ninth in PacWest) plus 34 runs scored (10th in PacWest) and 14 steals (13th in PacWest).

After becoming the winningest pitcher in ART U's single-season program history last week, freshman Hannah Rose Balke (21-8) remains the PacWest leader in wins, innings pitched (183.2), and is third in strikeouts (129). She has 16 complete games, tying her with both Dixie State's Brooklyn Beardshear for the PacWest lead and Brenna Mitchell (2015) for the program's single-season record. Top 25 in earned run average (3.01), Balke has allowed an opponent batting average of just .234 (tied with Sierrah Garcia's 2010 mark for second-lowest in the program's single-season history). Additionally, four shutouts put her tied for second in program single-season history, one behind Garcia's record.

THE STATE OF DIXIE
After starting PacWest play 11-1, No. 24 Dixie State has found itself on and off the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll. Despite their dominance in conference, the Trailblazers carry three losses (two to Concordia, one to recently-crowned PacWest champion No. 17 California Baptist) in April. DSU leads the conference in batting average (.328), runs scored (333), runs batted in (287), stolen bases (128), and is tied for the lead in home runs (15). A major part of the Dixie State offense has been Janessa Bassett who is atop the PacWest in both batting average (.420) and steals (36). Defensively, Brooklyn Beardshear (15-6) offers a 1.45 ERA having posted seven shutouts along the way. In 27 previous meetings, the Knights are 4-23 against Dixie State.

15 HITS CHAIN TOGETHER FOR 14 RUNS IN SPLIT
In its penultimate Pacific West Conference series, Academy of Art University softball bounced back from a tough 3-2 loss in extra innings of game one with a 15-hit, 14-run offensive explosion in the second contest. The Urban Knights would score multiple runs in five of seven innings and went on to win 14-9 to split on Apr. 22 at Penguin Field.