Games #23 & 24
ART U Urban Knights (3-19, 0-6 PacWest) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (11-11, 4-8 PacWest)
Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 9 a.m. & 11 a.m.
Atherton, Calif. – Wunderlich Field
Live Stats & Live Video
Games #25 & 26
ART U Urban Knights (3-19, 0-6 PacWest) vs. Hawaii Pacific Sharks (10-17, 5-7 PacWest)
Friday, March 24, 2023 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video
Games #27 & 28
ART U Urban Knights (3-19, 0-6 PacWest) vs. Hawaii Pacific Sharks (10-17, 5-7 PacWest)
Saturday, March 25, 2023 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Saratoga, Calif. – West Valley College
Live Stats & Live Video
Games #29 & 30
ART U Urban Knights (3-19, 0-6 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (7-13, 4-7 PacWest)
Monday, March 27, 2023 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video
Games #31 & 32
ART U Urban Knights (3-19, 0-6 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (7-13, 4-7 PacWest)
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video
ART U TO MEET SILVERSWORDS, SHARKS, VULCANS FOLLOWING WET BAY AREA WEATHER
With inclement weather and wet field conditions forcing the postponement of its Pacific West Conference series hosting Chaminade earlier this week, Academy of Art softball looks to still face the Silverswords in a modified schedule while also hosting Hawaii Pacific and UH Hilo during this upcoming homestand.
FIRST PITCH
ART U starts with a 9 a.m. doubleheader versus Chaminade on Thursday, Mar. 23 from Menlo's Wunderlich Field in Atherton with the remainder of the series rescheduled to Thursday, Mar. 30 in Turlock ahead of the Tournament of Champions. On Friday, Mar. 24, the Urban Knights then host their series with HPU with the first of two noon doubleheaders at Mission Blue Field followed by another at West Valley College in Saratoga on Saturday, Mar. 25 which will be "Pride Day" in celebration of the LGBTQI+ community. The ART U homestand concludes with UH Hilo on Monday and Tuesday, Mar. 27-28 in another two noon doubleheaders at Mission Blue Field. 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
A pair of Urban Knights have moved their batting averages back above .300 as junior infielder
Haley Randall is swinging at a .317 clip (19th in PacWest) and junior infielder
Katie Humphreys is up to .310 (21st in PacWest) after both now share the team lead with five multi-hit games apiece. Randall adds team-highs of 16 runs scored (seventh in PacWest) and six stolen bases (sixth in PacWest) while freshman infielder
Audrey Allen, who is hitting .288, comes off her second game with three runs batted in this season, holding a team-high 10 RBIs (18th in PacWest) along with four doubles. Senior outfielder
Bethany Mitchell has hit for the most extra bases on the squad, entering the week with six doubles (eighth in PacWest) and two triples (fourth in PacWest) as well as nine runs batted in.
Freshman pitcher
Kamielle Powell (3-8) has risen to sixth in the PacWest with 64.0 innings pitched while adding 28 strikeouts (ninth in PacWest) and a 3.61 earned run average (15th in PacWest).
SWORD PLAY
Yet to play away from Hawaii this season, Chaminade won four of its first six games then lost five of its next six before capturing an 8-7 win over No. 17 Concordia and splitting with Azusa Pacific. Coming into this departure from the islands, the Silverswords have won four of their last five contests and currently pace the PacWest with 14 triples as the trio of Taryn Fujioka, Keaolani Takemura, and Haley Hayakawa have combined for 10 to date. Takemura's .403 batting average is second in the conference while her 15 runs batted in are seventh and Fujioka holds the second spot with 21 runs scored. Jaeda Cabunoc (2-2) checks in at seventh in the PacWest with a 1.97 ERA through 32.0 innings pitched. Though CUH took three of four from ART U last season, the Knights are still firmly ahead 24-11 in the all-time series.
SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS
After dropping its first eight games of the season, Hawaii Pacific picked up its first three wins in successive contests before losing eight of its next nine though the win came over Concordia. Since that time, the Sharks have won six of seven, sweeping Azusa Pacific in Hawaii along the way. In their first conference games off the islands, HPU is slated to face Dominican on Mar. 22-23. Leading the PacWest with 31 stolen bases on the season, Hawaii Pacific has two hitters inside the conference's top 12 in batting average and top 10 in steals with Noel Saunders (.342, five steals) and Tiari Hernandez (.337, nine steals) leading the way. Defensively, Taylor Thompson (3-9) owns a 2.48 earned run average (ninth in PacWest) through her 79.0 innings pitched (third in PacWest). The Knights and Sharks have met 40 times previously with the latter ahead 25-15 in the historical matchup.
A HILO HELLO
A tough start to the year saw UH Hilo fall in four of its first five games before a seven-game losing streak opened PacWest play. Since that time, however, the Vulcans have won four straight and were winning their most recent halted game versus Holy Names which came before a four-part series at Dominican. UH Hilo ranks second in the conference in stolen bases (24) and fourth in batting average (.266) as Trinity Favela offers a .390 batting average (third in PacWest) and Jayda Favela adds nine stolen bases (second in PacWest). The Vulcans' lowest ERA of 3.61 belongs to Alexis Lacy (4-7) whose eight complete games are first and her 64.0 innings pitched are sixth. On the winning end of five of the last six times the teams have met, UH Hilo leads ART U 17-13 in the previous 30 meetings.
SOFTBALL CANNOT HOLD OFF APU LATE ON SERIES' FINAL DAY
Back out at Cougar Softball Field to finish its first four-game Pacific West Conference series of the season, Academy of Art softball rallied for multiple runs in three different innings, but Azusa Pacific managed to emerge with both victories on
Mar. 18. Early offense from the Cougars staked them to a six-run advantage that the Urban Knights cut in half in the fourth frame, but the 6-3 final held the rest of the way. Four runs in the first inning of the second game were added upon with two more in the fourth, but APU closed the afternoon with four runs in the final two frames to steal the 7-6 win.
ON THE HORIZON
The conclusion of the series with Chaminade will be next for ART U on Thursday, Mar. 30 followed by games against various West Region opponents in the Tournament of Champions (Mar. 31-Apr.2) all in Turlock.
