Games #48 & 49
ART U Urban Knights (8-39, 5-19 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (9-35, 5-23 PacWest)
Sunday, April 24, 2022 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

SENIOR TRIO TO BE RECOGNIZED PRIOR TO REMATCH WITH HAWKS
Back in the Bay Area following 10 games in Hawaii against Pacific West Conference opponents, Academy of Art softball now looks ahead to this weekend's rematch hosting Holy Names which will feature a Senior Day ceremony celebrating utility Alyssa Rasmussen, catcher Alyssa Brundage, and catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson.

FIRST PITCH
In its lone gameday this weekend, Academy of Art hosts Holy Names from Mission Blue Field this Sunday, Apr. 24 with its Senior Day ceremony taking place prior to first pitch 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
In addition to ranking third in the PacWest in doubles (45), Academy of Art has enjoyed a recent power surge with three home runs in its last four games. At the top of the lineup, sophomore infielder Haley Randall is hitting .329 with 22 runs scored (10th in PacWest) and is followed closely by senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson (.320 batting average) who recently broke the program record with her 23rd blast propelling ART U to a 6-3 win over Chaminade on Apr. 18. She added another homer the following day and now has five on the season (sixth in PacWest) in addition to team-highs of 12 doubles (fourth in PacWest) and 21 runs batted in (ninth in PacWest). With 40 career doubles, she is just three away from breaking the program record while two more walks will also surpass the 77 free passes taken by ART U career-leader Brenna Youngquist. Henderson also recently became the third Urban Knight to register more than 100 RBIs in a career.

Fellow senior catcher Alyssa Brundage has seen her bat heat up over the Hawaii roadtrip as she now carriers a career-long nine-game hit streak which has elevated her to a .298 batting average (third on the team). Junior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman is next, hitting .275 with seven doubles and 15 RBIs while sophomore pitcher/infielder Katie Humphreys has 16 RBIs to join Mittman inside the conference's top 20. Remaining with the upper tier in the PacWest in the stolen base category, senior utility Alyssa Rasmussen ranks fifth with 14 swipes in 17 attempts plus 16 walks.

In the circle, junior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (2-14) tossed 41.0 of 58.2 innings during the Knights' Hawaii trip and comes off a stretch of allowing just one earned run in her last 14.0 innings of work. Sophomore pitcher Jolene Rhoades (5-17) ranks 11th in the PacWest with 43 strikeouts. Both Rhoades (116.1) and Arnold-Jolley (110.1) are inside the conference's top seven in terms of innings pitched.

REMEMBER THE NAMES
Holy Names turned its two wins over Academy of Art late in March into a four-game win streak, the Hawks' longest of the season, with a win over Northwest Nazarene to start the Tournament of Champions thereafter. Though HNU would also defeat SF State on that trip, the Hawks would then fall in eight straight, concluding with a series loss to No. 7 Concordia. Ranked third in the PacWest in batting average (.273), Holy Names has both Lyndsey Widner (.388, fourth in PacWest) and Cienna Cheshier (.337, 10th in PacWest) both inside the conference' top 10 with Widner also in the upper tier in both home runs (4) and RBIs (23). Defensively, Haighley Kissee, who tossed all but three innings last time out against ART U, sports a 5-12 record with a 3.09 ERA across 108.2 innings pitched. Despite the results earlier this season, the Knights are up 35-16 in the all-time matchup with the Hawks.

KNIGHTS OUTHIT CUH THEN NEARLY WIN IN EXTRAS TO END TRIP
Academy of Art softball had its share of highlights on Apr. 19 in the conclusion to its 10-game Hawaii roadtrip as senior catcher/infielder Lauryn Henderson furthered the program's career home run record, junior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (2-14) tossed six scoreless innings, and junior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman nearly gave the Urban Knights their third win in extra innings. Despite those efforts, it was Chaminade who walked away from Howard A. Okita Field 5-2 and 4-3 winners in the teams' Pacific West Conference series finale.

ON THE HORIZON
Although this weekend will be Senior Day, one final PacWest series awaits Academy of Art as the Urban Knights will host Biola for four games across Apr. 28-29.