Game #7
ART U Urban Knights (0-6) vs. Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks (6-2)
Friday, February 14, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Warrior Softball Field
Live Stats

Game #8
ART U Urban Knights (0-6) vs. Chico State Wildcats (5-0)
Friday, February 14, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park - Field 3

Game #9
ART U Urban Knights (0-6) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay Otters (3-2)
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 1 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park – Field 2
Live Stats

Game #10
ART U Urban Knights (0-6) vs. Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes (3-2)
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 3:30 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park - Field 2
Live Stats

Game #11
ART U Urban Knights (0-6) vs. SF State Gators (8-1)
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Noon
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park - Field 2
Live Stats

FIVE CCAA OPPONENTS AWAIT ART U AT TOC
It will be another busy week as Academy of Art softball prepares to match up with a quintet the California Collegiate Athletic Association as part of Stanislaus State's 2025 Tournament of Champions sponsored by City of Turlock.

FIRST PITCH
Moving between multiple fields at Pedretti Park, ART U begins the Tournament of Champions on Friday, Feb. 14 with an 2 p.m. matchup with Cal Poly Humboldt from Warrior Softball Field before facing Chico State at 7 p.m. at Pedretti Park – Field 3. The Knights will remain at Pedretti Park – Field 2 for the remainder of the weekend, first facing Cal State Monterey Bay at 1 p.m. and Cal State San Bernardino at 3:30 p.m. both on Saturday, Feb. 15 then SF State at noon on Sunday, Feb. 16. 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
Through six games of the 2025 season, seven different Urban Knights have recorded a run batted in with two apiece coming off the bat of graduate student outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki and freshman outfielder Danielle Shinko. Sophomore pitcher/utility Kayla Vaughan is the team's batting average leader (.250) and junior infielder Audrey Allen's three runs are the most on the squad.

In the pitching circle, junior Kamielle Powell (0-3) leads ART U with a 2.85 earned run average and 15 strikeouts (fourth in PacWest) through 19.2 innings of work. She has struck out five or more batters in two of her three starts thus far including a new career-high six against Sonoma State.

LUMBERJACK ATTACK
Picked to finish seventh in the CCAA, Cal Poly Humboldt has opened the season at 6-2 overall with wins over No. 22 Lewis, Ferris State, Hawaii Pacific, Chaminade, and UH Hilo thus far. Gaige Garcia (2-1) has paced the team with a 1.11 ERA while Alyssa Smokey has carried a hot bat, hitting .591 with 12 runs batted in. Since tying back in 2016, ART U has won three of its most recent four matchups with the Lumberjacks though the latter leads the all-time series 14-7-1.

WAY OF THE WILDCAT
The CCAA Preseason Poll had Chico State eighth just behind Cal Poly Humboldt, but the Wildcats have started the year 5-0, sweeping matchups with Central Washington, Azusa Pacific, Biola, Western Oregon, and Chaminade in Irvine. Chico State, who plays Jessup prior to Academy of Art on Friday, has looked to Gracie Dunning with her .538 batting average plus 11 runs batted in for offense and Amelie Valdez (3-0) with her 0.00 ERA plus 21 strikeouts through 20.0 innings pitched defensively. Though the Knights split two 2024 contests with the Wildcats, Chico State holds an 11-3 advantage historically.

OTTER OBSERVATIONS
Holding the 10th and final spot in the CCAA Preseason Poll, Cal State Monterey Bay had its ups and downs in the Concordia Kickoff Classic, falling to the host Golden Eagles and Azusa Pacific but defeating Western Oregon, Chaminade, and Central Washington. With matchups against Menlo and CWU ahead of facing ART U in Turlock, the Otters have been led by Malia Martin's .500 batting average and a 1.56 ERA plus 10 strikeouts in Kadence Nulick's (1-0) 9.0 innings of work. Out of 17 previous meetings, CSUMB is in front 13-4 versus Academy of Art.

CALLING COYOTES
Cal State San Bernardino, slated in the fourth spot in the CCAA predicted order of finish, took down Vanguard, CSU Pueblo, and No. 2 Western Washington in addition to dropping pairings with No. 18 Northwest Nazarene and Dominican down in Irvine to start the year. The Coyotes will play Concordia in a Feb. 11 doubleheader then Dominican, Simon Fraser, and Jessup before meeting ART U on Feb. 15. With a trio batting over .415 and combining for 10 runs batted in, CSUSB will send Bri Goris (.471), Tereise Tosi (.438), and Iliana Mejia (.417) to the plate while Samantha Vargas (2-1) and her 2.83 ERA will look to defend it. Four straight victories for the Coyotes have them up 5-2 on the Knights all time.

GAUGING THE GATORS
A one-run loss to Chaminade is the only blemish through SF State's first nine games of 2025 as the Gators look to improve upon the sixth-place position chosen for them in the CCAA Preseason Poll. A win over Concordia highlighted SFSU's first tournament then doubleheader sweeps of Jessup and Menlo have the Gators with momentum heading into the Tournament of Champions where they will face Vanguard, Saint Martin's, Northwest Nazarene, and Central Washington ahead of Academy of Art. Ashley Rocha leads the squad with a .450 batting average plus six stolen bases (one of three Gators with that total), Danielle Guerrera adds 13 runs batted in, and Mari Takeda Bajan (4-0) offers a 0.91 ERA. Winning season series since 2019, SF State has moved ahead of ART U 14-11 in the historical matchup.

OPENING WEEK WRAPS WITH PIONEERS GETTING PAST ART U
Playing its fifth and sixth games over a five-day span, Academy of Art softball rallied late in its first contest against Cal State East Bay then had opportunities to break a 1-1 tie in game two, but despite a valiant starting effort from sophomore pitcher Kayla Vaughan (0-3), the Pioneers prevailed 2-1 following their 7-2 game one victory on Feb. 7.

ON THE HORIZON
The Urban Knights' first time competing at home in 2025 will follow the Tournament of Champions as ART U hosts Simon Fraser for a noon doubleheader on Feb. 19.