Games #43 & 44
ART U Urban Knights (10-32, 6-20 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (19-22, 12-14 PacWest)
Friday, April 26, 2024 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats | Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART CONCLUDES 2024 SEASON AT HOME
Local for its final Pacific West Conference doubleheader of the year, Academy of Art softball will honor its senior quintet of outfielder Maddie Sticka along with infielders Elle Edeker, Haley Randall, Hilary Grullon, and Katie Humphreys prior to the start of a rematch with Dominican.

FIRST PITCH
The Urban Knights and Penguins match up at Mission Blue Field in Brisbane this Friday, Apr. 26 for a twin bill starting at noon following ART U's Senior Day ceremony at 11:45 a.m. 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
Firmly second in the PacWest in triples (10) and third in stolen bases (42), Academy of Art is paced by two hitters batting over .300 in junior utility Alexis Folks (.313, 12th in PacWest) and Humphreys (.306). With 10 runs batted in, Humphreys is one of four Urban Knights who have reached double digits in the category as the team lead of 18 RBIs (11th in PacWest) is shared by senior outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki (.292) and sophomore infielder Audrey Allen (.279). Grayhorse-Pupecki adds four triples (second in PacWest), four home runs (eighth in PacWest), four doubles, and 21 runs scored (ninth in PacWest) while Allen has provided eight doubles (eighth in PacWest) as part of her 12 extra-base hits. In addition to moving into the program's top spot in career stolen base percentage (.968) with her seven swipes in seven attempts this year, Randall's three triples are third in the PacWest and come with 15 RBIs while Edeker sports a team-best 12-game reached base streak coming into this week. With 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts thus far, freshman outfielder Lida Wos ranks fourth in the conference. Junior catcher Liberty Herrera's two baserunners caught stealing versus Jessup most recently pushed her season total up to 14, effectively breaking the program's single-season record.

Both inside the PacWest's top 10 in terms of innings pitched, freshman Kayla Vaughan (4-15) and freshman Alyssa Fullmer (5-9) have combined to throw 203.0 innings this season with Fullmer's 4.49 earned run average second on the team to sophomore Kamielle Powell (1-4) who is at 4.28 in 50.2 innings of work. Vaughan's 87 strikeouts remain fifth in the PacWest and first among non-seniors/grad students.

PENGUINS' POSTSEASON PENDING
In the time since Dominican's two wins over the Knights back on Mar. 16, the Penguins have gone 3-10 with two PacWest victories in that span helping their conference record become 12-14. Biola, who currently holds the fourth and final PacWest Tournament spot ahead of DUC, still has four games to play (two on Apr. 24) and sports a 12-11 conference record to this point. First in the PacWest with 58 stolen bases, Dominican poses two particularly dangerous offensive threats in Olivia Lee (.350, nine doubles, seven stolen bases) and Tiare Guerrero (.346, 29 runs scored, 22 stolen bases to lead the PacWest) while Shelby Keltner (11-9, 2.41 ERA, 117 strikeouts in 139.1 innings pitched) has handled most of the work in the circle. Though recent history has favored the Penguins, the historical matchup between Academy of Art and Dominican rests on ART U's side 40-26.

WARRIORS TOP KNIGHTS IN DEPARTURE FROM PACWEST PLAY
The final non-conference matchup of the season pit Academy of Art softball against Jessup at Foskett Regional Park on Apr. 17 and, with two-run rallies in each game's second inning, the Warriors were able to outlast the Urban Knights 4-1 and 9-2.