Game #33
ART U Urban Knights (15-17, 13-11 PacWest) at No. 17/15 Azusa Pacific (29-8, 18-6 PacWest)
Thursday, May 20, 2021 at Noon
Azusa, Calif. – Cougar Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #34
Hawaii Hilo Vulcans (13-12, 13-9 PacWest) at ART U Urban Knights (15-17, 13-11 PacWest)
Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 4 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Cougar Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #35
ART U Urban Knights (15-17, 13-11 PacWest) at Hawaii Hilo Vulcans (13-12, 13-9 PacWest)
Friday, May 21, 2021 at 4 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Cougar Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #36
No. 17/15 Azusa Pacific (29-8, 18-6 PacWest) at ART U Urban Knights (15-17, 13-11 PacWest)
Saturday, May 22, 2021 at Noon
Azusa, Calif. – Cougar Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

POSTSEASON PUSH
After finishing pod play at 13-11, Academy of Art baseball claimed the Pacific West Conference Northern California Pod title and has earned the opportunity to play in the PacWest AQ Pod Series to determine who will earn the PacWest's automatic bid for NCAA Division II Regionals, set to begin on May 27. While in Southern California, ART U will battle twice each against SoCal champion (and host) No. 17/15 Azusa Pacific and Hawaii champion UH Hilo, beginning with the Cougars on Thursday. 

FIRST PITCH
The Urban Knights are scheduled to play two games on the first day of the pod series, facing off against APU in the opening game on Thursday at noon before ending the day against the Vulcans at 4 p.m. There will be just one game for ART U on each Friday and Saturday, as the rematch with UH Hilo is set for Friday at 4 p.m. before ending their portion of the series with the Cougars on Saturday at noon. 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.

HONOR ROLL
Four well-deserving Urban Knights had their play this season recognized by the PacWest on Tuesday, as junior outfielder Ty Conrad and senior right-handed pitcher Jayson Summers were each named to the All-PacWest Second Team, while redshirt junior shortstop Dominic Ruggiero and graduate student outfielder Andrew Shebloski were both selected to the All-PacWest Third Team. It is the second time in ART U history that the Knights have had four All-PacWest selections, repeating the feat that they accomplished in 2019 when they had at least one player selected to all three All-PacWest teams (two selected to third team; no awards given in 2020). With numerous individual records set between the four, including just the sixth five-RBI game in ART U history by Conrad and Ruggiero's ART U record-tying, sigle-season 19-game reached base safely streak, this quartet helped Academy of Art to the second-best batting average as a team in the PacWest at .303 (first: APU, .337) while ranking fifth in ERA (5.78). It is the first time receiving the awards in the careers of all four Urban Knights. 

KNIGHT WATCH
ART U ended the regular season ranking second in team batting average in the PacWest at .303 (first: APU, .337), and are averaging 5.84 runs scored per game in 2021. Their on-base percentage (.370) and slugging percentage (.409) both ended fifth in the PacWest, while also posting the second-most doubles (61) and the most triples (9). From the hill, the Knights recorded the second-lowest opponent batting average (.261) in the PacWest and have allowed the fourth-fewest hits (255) in the conference.

Five Urban Knights ended the year batting above the .300 mark, with sophomore center fielder Hayato Niki in front of the pack at .351, while just behind him is Ruggiero at .346 and Conrad at .344. Much of the ART U damage comes from Ruggiero and Conrad at the top of the lineup, as Conrad leads the team in runs scored (30; 10th most in the PacWest) and runs batted in (30; eighth-most in PacWest) while Ruggiero has the lead in doubles (10; tied for second most in PacWest) and total bases (64; tied for 13th most in PacWest). Holding the lead in multi-hit games is Ruggiero (16), while Conrad is the owner of the most multi-RBI games (9).

By year's end, graduate student righty Matthew Sanchez had won the most games from the hill, sporting a 4-3 record while starting the first game of every series for ART U this season. Meanwhile, Summers (3-5) and junior righty Noah Daubin (3-3) each earned a trio of wins, while Summers claimed the lowest ERA at 3.67 (seventh-best in the PacWest) and Daubin checked in just behind with a 4.08 (eighth-best in the PacWest). The 54.1 innings pitched by Sanchez were the most on the squad, but it was junior right-hander Collin Carriger who tallied the most strikeouts on the year with 52 (tied for fifth most in the PacWest). Carriger's three saves were tops on the Knights and in the PacWest, and the .214 batting average that Summers held opponents to was fourth best in the PacWest (Daubin–6th, .234; Carriger–10th, .256). 
 
COOLING OFF THE COUGARS' BATS
Having dominated their way to the PacWest SoCal pod title with a .784 overall winning percentage (29-8) on the season, the No. 17/15 Cougars come in as one of the hottest teams in the DII West Region, leading the PacWest in nearly every offensive category. APU is a team with massive power, having crushed 70 home runs as a team, which is 20 more dingers than the next closest team, Concordia, with 50. In fact, 11 different players smacked at least four homers on the year, including two in double-digits, but they can also go station-to-station with base knocks (led the PacWest in average at .337 and hits with 369). Right in the heart of the lineup is Osvaldo Tovalin, the newly announced 2021 PacWest Player of the Year, who ended the year slashing .435/.483/.763 (batting average was tops in the PacWest, top five in OBP and slugging percentage). His 57 hits were also tops in the conference, scoring 45 runs while smacking 10 doubles and 11 home runs en route to 38 RBI and 100 total bases. From the bump, 2021 PacWest Pitcher of the Year AJ Woodall heads the charge, registering a 2.15 ERA in 58.2 innings pitched across 10 appearances (nine starts). His 60 strikeouts are both a team-high and third most in the PacWest, while All-PacWest First Team honoree Korey Shepard has been a crucial piece from the bullpen with a 2.76 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Azusa Pacific, who comes into this series having won six straight, leads the all-time series, 26-2, and are on a nine-game winning streak against the Knights. 

HANGING CURVE FROM HILO
Entering the PacWest AQ Pod Series as the Hawaii champions following 22 matchups with Hawaii Pacific, the Vulcans ended the year with an overall winning percentage of .520 (13-12), claiming the fifth-best batting average in the conference at .275 and the best ERA at 4.90 (though they did pitch the least amount of innings in the PacWest). All-PacWest Second Team selection Trey Yakumoto paces the team in average at .370 and is either first or second in most offensive categories along with Casey Yamauchi, who is sporting a .362 average and leads the team in runs (17), hits (34), and RBI (19). From the mound, Christian Sadler was 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in six appearances, and All-PacWest Third Teamer Kyle Alcorn logged a team-high 30.1 innings pitched with a 3.26 ERA and 21 strikeouts. In the all-time series, UHH holds the edge over ART U, 45-14, with the Vulcans having won the last five meetings. 

ON-DECK CIRCLE
Should the Urban Knights advance past the PacWest AQ Pod Series, their spot in the NCAA DII West Regionals (May 27-30) would be announced this Sunday, May 23 on the 7 p.m. PT selection show via www.ncaa.com.