Games #29 & 30
ART U Urban Knights (2-26, 1-9 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (5-26, 3-17 PacWest)
Friday, March 25, 2022 at Noon and 2 p.m.
Hayward, Calif. – Chabot College
Live Stats & Live Video

Games #30 & 31
ART U Urban Knights (2-26, 1-9 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (12-19, 9-13 PacWest)
Sunday, March 27, 2022 at Noon and 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

Games #32
ART U Urban Knights (2-26) vs. Menlo College Oaks (10-18)
Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at Noon
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART TO GET FIRST LOOK AT HAWKS AND OAKS, REMATCH PENGUINS
Crossing the 30-game mark this week, Academy of Art softball plays its final Pacific West Conference games of the month this week, matching up with Holy Names and Dominican over a three-day span, before hosting Menlo College to close out March.

FIRST PITCH
Across the bay at Chabot College in Hayward, Academy of Art will face Holy Names on Friday, Mar. 25. Two days later on Sunday, Mar. 27, ART U hosts its rematch with Dominican at Mission Blue Field. Both doubleheaders are set to begin at noon. In a rare single non-conference game, the Knights will welcome Menlo to Mission Blue Field on Wednesday, Mar. 30 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.

KNIGHT WATCH
Though she did not have a run driven in during ART U's most recent doubleheader, sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Humphreys still has 12 RBIs in her last nine contests. She is up to a team-best 13 on the season (11th in the PacWest) and offers the most multi-RBI games on the squad with four thus far.

Currently riding a four-game hit streak, sophomore infielder Haley Randall is the team's leader in batting average (.312) as well as runs scored (13, tied for 12th in PacWest). She is followed by senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson's .278 batting average which includes seven doubles (tied for fifth in PacWest) plus 10 runs batted in. Henderson's career watch remains focused on multiple program records including home runs (her 20 are two back of the record), doubles (her 35 are fourth in ART U history), RBIs (her 92 are sixth, but three back from third in program history), and walks (her 70 currently sit third and are just seven from the record).

Along with connecting for her second triple of the season last week, senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen also stole her team-best sixth base (13th in PacWest). She and junior outfielder Bethany Mitchell also share the team-lead with 10 walks apiece (both tied for seventh in PacWest).

In the circle, freshman pitcher Julia Jordan (1-8) remains seventh in the conference with 42 strikeouts in her 48.1 innings of work while sophomore pitcher Jolene Rhoades (1-12) ranks fifth in the PacWest with 70.2 innings completed. Among the staff, it is junior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (0-6) who enters this week coming off two of her best outings of the year as she held SF State to three earned runs in a season-high 6.0 innings then went just as long against Dominican, surrendering just one earned run.

HAWK STOCK
After going 1-8 to start the season, Holy Names was able to split twin bills with Cal State East Bay, Biola, and Azusa Pacific before breaking an 11-game losing streak with its most recent 7-1 victory over Hawaii Pacific. The Hawks are led offensively by Lyndsey Widner whose .390 batting average is third in the PacWest while her nine doubles are second. Haighley Kissee (2-7) brings a 3.40 ERA through 57.2 inning of work into this week's matchup. History heavily favors ART U as the Knights hold a 35-14 all-time advantage over HNU.

DU: PART DEUX
In the teams' most recent doubleheader on Mar. 20, Dominican's sweep was led by three individuals in particular, pitchers Shelby Keltner (7-11) and Kathryn Caravalho (3-5) plus Alicia Garcia in the box. The Penguins, who are currently seventh in the PacWest standings and face Cal State Monterey Bay on Mar. 23 prior to this weekend's games at ART U, had the tandem of Garcia (6-for-7, seven RBIs, 2HRs, five runs scored) and Keltner (3-0, 22.0IP, 1ER, 24K) named PacWest Player and Pitcher of the Week respectively. Continuing a history that has now seen 58 meetings, Academy of Art leads Dominican 37-21.

MENLO'S MO
Out of the Golden State Athletic Conference, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member Menlo College began its 2022 season by going 1-6, but used doubleheader sweeps of Marymount California and Simpson to close out February strong. A 2-6 start to March leads the Oaks into road doubleheaders against Ottawa and Arizona Christian prior to meeting ART U on Mar. 30. Offensively, it's Grace Christian's .424 batting average that leads Menlo while Wendy Mouat adds a team-high 11 RBIs. Defensively, Brianna Gonzalez (3-3) and Morgan Thomason (3-8) carry 2.98 and 3.06 ERAs respectively. Academy of Art will be facing Menlo for the first time since 2010 and is 3-1 all-time versus the Oaks.

DOMINICAN PREVAILS IN ART U'S RETURN TO PACWEST PLAY
Competing in its first two Pacific West Conference games since Mar. 8, Academy of Art softball could not overcome multi-run rallies by Dominican at Penguin Field on Mar. 20. Three scores in the fourth inning of game one ended up being the difference in a 3-0 final then an early push by the Penguins turned the second contest in their favor and ended 9-1 in six frames.

ON THE HORIZON
It will be a busy start to April for ART U as the Knights play five games over three days at Stanislaus State's Tournament of Champions in Turlock (Apr. 1-3). The first day of action features pairings with Saint Martin's (9 a.m.) and Cal State East Bay (4:30 p.m.).