Games #28 & 29
ART U Urban Knights (7-20, 3-11 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (14-14, 8-10 PacWest)
Friday, March 29, 2024 at Noon & 2 p.m. HT (3 & 5 p.m. PT)
Hilo, Hawaii – Vulcan Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video (Game 1) | Live Video (Game 2)

Games #30 & 31
ART U Urban Knights (7-20, 3-11 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (14-14, 8-10 PacWest)
Saturday, March 30, 2024 at Noon & 2 p.m. HT (3 & 5 p.m. PT)
Hilo, Hawaii – Vulcan Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video (Game 1) | Live Video (Game 2)

Games #32 & 33
ART U Urban Knights (7-20, 3-11 PacWest) vs. HPU Sharks (4-16, 0-8 PacWest)
Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 1 & 3 p.m. HT (4 & 6 p.m. PT)
Kaneohe, Hawaii – Howard A. Okita Field
Live Video

Games #34 & 35
ART U Urban Knights (7-20, 3-11 PacWest) vs. HPU Sharks (4-16, 0-8 PacWest)
Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 1 & 3 p.m. HT (4 & 6 p.m. PT)
Kaneohe, Hawaii – Howard A. Okita Field
Live Video

Games #36 & 37
ART U Urban Knights (7-20, 3-11 PacWest) vs. CUH Silverswords (10-10, 6-4 PacWest)
Saturday, April 6, 2024 at Noon & 2 p.m. HT (3 & 5 p.m. PT)
Honolulu – Silversword Field At Sand Island Park
Live Stats | Live Video

Games #38 & 39
ART U Urban Knights (7-20, 3-11 PacWest) vs. CUH Silverswords (10-10, 6-4 PacWest)
Sunday, April 7, 2024 at Noon & 2 p.m. HT (3 & 5 p.m. PT)
Honolulu – Silversword Field At Sand Island Park
Live Stats | Live Video

KNIGHTS TO FACE VULCANS, SHARKS, SILVERSWORDS ACROSS ISLANDS
Back into Pacific West Conference action and on the road for its longest trip of the season, Academy of Art softball prepares to match up with UH Hilo, Hawaii Pacific, and Chaminade in a 12-game, multi-island stretch spanning more than a week in Hawaii.

FIRST PITCH
Starting its Hawaii road trip on The Big Island, ART U first takes on UH Hilo Mar. 29-30 at Vulcan Softball Field. The Knights then start a four-game series with HPU two days later on Apr. 2-3 from Howard A. Okita Field in Kaneohe on Oahu. Concluding the trip at Silversword Field at Sand Island Park in Honolulu, Academy of Art meets Chaminade on Apr. 6-7. All doubleheaders will begin at noon HT (3 p.m. PT) with the exception of the HPU series which will start at 1 p.m. HT (4 p.m. PT). 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
Still third in the PacWest in stolen bases (30), Academy of Art has a trio hitting .290 or higher led by senior infielder Katie Humphreys at .346 (eighth in PacWest). Next with a .325 batting average (15th in PacWest) is junior utility Alexis Folks whose 15 walks are sixth-most in the conference while giving her a .432 on-base percentage (sixth in PacWest). The majority of ART U's run production has come from sophomore infielder Audrey Allen (.294) and senior infielder Haley Randall (.295) who have combined for 27 runs batted in with Allen's 15 (ninth in PacWest) coming with six doubles (seventh in PacWest), one triple, and two home runs. Meanwhile, Randall's 12 RBIs join her 10 runs scored and three doubles. Senior outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki is also in the double digits in both RBIs and runs after driving in 10 thus far while scoring 14 runs herself (11th in PacWest) and freshman outfielder Lida Wos checks in with 12 runs scored as well as 10 stolen bases (fourth in PacWest) in 10 attempts.

A four-arm rotation for the Knights is led by freshman Kayla Vaughan (3-8) and her nine starts that have yielded a 4.68 earned run average across 64.1 innings pitched. Vaughan adds 58 strikeouts (fifth in PacWest and first among non-seniors/grad students) to pace the squad while the team's ERA lead belongs to sophomore Kamielle Powell (1-3) at 4.31.

A HILO HELLO
Though weather canceled many games to start UH Hilo's season, the Vulcans began 7-1 before a series loss to Dominican was followed by a series split with Azusa Pacific and a sweep at Concordia's hand. UH Hilo was able to take three of four from Biola heading into the Tournament of Champions where just two wins came against three losses Guiding a Vulcans team that ranks third in the conference in ERA (2.25) is Chloe Sales (1-5) and her 2.10 ERA (sixth in PacWest) over 50.0 innings of work while Rayna White comes in hitting .360 (seventh in PacWest) and Jayda Favela is not far behind at .327 with 12 stolen bases (second in PacWest). The historical series favors the Vulcans slightly over ART U at 18-14.

SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS
Playing the fewest games of any team in the conference thus far, Hawaii Pacific recently endured a 12-game losing streak with UH Hilo, Chaminade, and Dominican all earning victories over the Sharks. Prior to what will more than two weeks between games, HPU split a doubleheader with Chaminade. The Sharks have Jewel Larson's .328 batting average (12th in PacWest) and 11 RBIs leading the team in addition to Gianna Kerschbaum (1-5) sporting the best ERA (4.10) on the squad through 41. Innings pitched. A nearly 50-game history between Academy of Art and Hawaii Pacific sees HPU in front 27-17.

SCOUTING THE 'SWORDS
Balancing four consecutive losses to begin 2024, Chaminade won eight of its next nine games including two versus Hawaii Pacific and three of four against Dominican. The Silverswords then dropped five of their next seven, but mixed in an extra-inning 4-3 victory over Concordia during that span. Chaminade, who will face Biola (Mar. 29-30) and Azusa Pacific (Apr. 1-2) on the mainland ahead of its series with the Urban Knights, currently leads the PacWest in batting average (.274) with three Silverswords, Larchelle Tuifao (.452), Taryn Fujioka (.433), and Keaolani Takemura-Brehme (.397), owning the top three spots. Defensively, the tandem of Ashley Ogata (2-3) and Kamryn Lopez (5-3) are both top nine in the conference in ERA at 2.22 and 2.37 respectively. Though CUH has had the edge in the previous two years, ART U still remains firmly in front of the Silverswords 24-15 historically.

SOFTBALL CLOSES TOC BY NEARLY COMING BACK AGAINST CSUSB
Following a day where weather wreaked havoc with the Tournament of Champions and canceled most games, Academy of Art softball was able to complete its two contests on Mar. 24, falling to Sonoma State 5-1 in what was a pitchers' duel for the first three innings before twice in the late frames of what became a narrow 4-2 loss at the hands of Cal State San Bernardino out at Pedretti Park.

ON THE HORIZON
Back on the mainland in April, ART U will first host its Alumni Game on Apr. 13 then return to action for its final non-conference games at Jessup on Apr. 17.