Games #30 & 31
ART U Urban Knights (14-15, 10-9 PWC) vs. #14 Concordia Eagles (35-6, 21-3 PWC)
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

Games #32 & 33
ART U Urban Knights (14-15) vs. SF State Gators (29-16 PWC)
Thursday, April 18, 2019 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
San Francisco – SFSU Softball Field
Live Stats

EAGLES, GATORS NEXT OPPONENTS FOR ACADEMY OF ART
After going 6-6 in Hawaii and winning eight of nine at one point over its month-long stretch of road games, ART U softball now goes up against #14 Concordia (Calif.) in two makeup games on Wednesday after their series was rained out in March then Academy of Art challenges SF State in its final non-Pacific West Conference matchup on Thursday.

FIRST PITCH
The Urban Knights will begin their back-to-back gamedays by hosting No. 14 Concordia (Calif.) this Wednesday, Apr. 17 in a noon doubleheader at Mission Blue Field in Brisbane. That leads them into an 11 a.m. road non-conference twinbill at SF State on Thursday, Apr. 18. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Academy of Art starts the week ranked third in the PacWest in both triples (seven, four from breaking the program's single-season record) and stolen bases (46). After her 13-game hit streak that spanned the Tournament of Champions into half of Hawaii, sophomore catcher Lauryn Henderson sits atop the conference in both batting average (.440) and slugging percentage (.786, on pace to break the ART U single-season record) while checking in at second in home runs (seven). The next three hitters are all close to one another in terms of batting average as less than 10 points separates junior outfielder Gabi Hirsch (.297), senior infielder Brenna Youngquist (.291), and junior utility Dominique Seva'aetasi (.289). Seva'aetasi and Hirsch are each among the PacWest's top 10 in terms of stolen bases at 14 and 10 respectively while Youngquist continues to both achieve and pursue career milestones. After becoming the program's career walks leader with her 73rd base on balls two games ago, she remains in the hunt for career records in home runs (one to tie, two to break), runs batted in (12 to tie, 13 to break), and doubles (14 to tie, 15 to break). Now tied for third in the conference with three triples thus far, freshman utility Nikki West has moved up to a .284 batting average with eight extra-base hits (second to Henderson's team-best 15).

Offering the fewest walks among the conference's top pitchers with 55.0+ innings pitched, sophomore Cecilia Lopez (8-5) has issued just 16 free passes in 84.2 innings of work. She ranks sixth in the conference with a 2.32 earned run average with 10 complete games in 13 starts.

EAGLES SOARING OVER PACWEST
Ranked No. 14 in the country in this week's NFCA DII poll and previously as high as No. 1, Concordia (Calif.) has led the PacWest for the entire season. Following a loss to Northwest Nazarene in its 2019 opener, the Eagles won 16 in a row before splitting four games with Hawaii Pacific. Since that time, CUI has only fallen to UH Hilo in conference and UC San Diego (ranked No. 11 at the time) and Stanislaus State outside the PacWest. Concordia (Calif.) plays Holy Names on Apr. 16 prior to facing Academy of Art. Not surprisingly, the Eagles lead the conference in batting average (.302) and ERA (1.42) as the offensive tandem of Amanda Gjertsen (.381, 17 doubles, 37 RBIs) and Sydney Sprinkle (.352, nine homers) have been very impressive while last year's PacWest Freshman and Pitcher of the Year Callie Nunes (24-5) comes in with conference-best 1.05 ERA (top 10 in DII) as well as 10 shutouts and 182 strikeouts in 153.2 innings pitched. A very familiar foe last season, Concordia (Calif.) has a 9-1 lead on ART U historically.

THE BATTLE FOR SAN FRANCISCO SUPREMACY
At 29-16 overall, SF State sports the fourth-highest record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Gators have had their ups and downs this season, going 2-3 at the Tournament of Champions for example, but they come into Thursday's matchup having won nine of their last 10 games including a sweep of Stanislaus State. SFSU's offense has been its calling card as the Gators lead the CCAA with a .321 batting average as well as 225 RBIs thanks in large part to Brylynn Vallejos whose .455 is atop the conference. The Gators' top hurler is Emily Mitchell (9-10) who carries a 2.71 ERA through 20 starts. Coming off three wins over SF State last season, the Urban Knights are up 11-6 in the all-time matchup.

SOFTBALL FINISHES HAWAII ROADTRIP WITH 9-0 TRIUMPH OVER HILO
Playing its 11th and 12th consecutive game in Hawaii, Academy of Art softball was happy to end on a winning note. The Urban Knights, bouncing back from a 5-1 loss in the first contest at Kealakehe High School on Apr. 13, unleashed their offense to the tune of nine runs on nine hits with a pair of two-run homers mixed into a 9-0 victory over six innings conclude ART U's Hawaii roadtrip.

LOOKING AHEAD
Just three more gamedays remain for Academy of Art after this week. The Knights first host Holy Names on Apr. 26 the finish the year with four against Dominican on Senior Day in Brisbane (Apr. 27) followed by the season finale on May 4 in San Rafael.