GAMES #32-35
ART U (4-27, 3-19 PWC) vs. UH Hilo (8-32, 7-29 PWC)
Hilo, HI -- Wong Stadium
Live Stats

Friday, April 12 at 7:00 PM Pacific Time (Game 1)
Saturday, April 13 at 4:00 PM Pacific Time (Game 1)

GAMES #36-39
ART U (4-27, 3-19 PWC) vs. Hawaii Pacific (24-14, 13-11 PWC)
Waipahu, HI -- Hans L'Orange Park
Live Stats

Tuesday, April 16 at 7:00 PM Pacific Time (Game 1)
Wednesday, April 17 at 7:00 PM Pacific Time (Game 1)

LEADING OFF
The Academy of Art University baseball players are heading to Hawaii after what was an extremely solid series split with Point Loma Nazarene University. The Urban Knights starting pitching has continued to improve, while the bats got key hits with runners in scoring position against the Sea Lions.

TRENDING DOWNWARD: KNIGHTS ERA
There are a couple of stats in baseball that you want to see go down as the season goes on, and for the Urban Knights, their ERA has done just that. Since it reached it's peak on March 9 against California Baptist, the Urban Knights have knocked off a run and a half to the lowest it has been as a team in program history. Nate Gercken (3.05) and Aaron Garabedian (3.48) each currently have ERAs below the Knights' single-season record of 4.52, set by Zach Mexicano, while Nicholas Boyett (4.93) is hot on his heels.

END OF AN AGE FOR VULCANS
The series with the Urban Knights marks the final four games for head coach Joey Estrella, who has been at the helm for the Vulcans for the past 37 years. However, UH Hilo has lost eight in a row heading into the series with ART U, dropping back to back series to California Baptist and Hawaii Pacific. They do have some hitters, though, as Tyler Nitahara (.330), John Abreu (.326), and Keenan Nishioka (.306) are all above the .300 mark at the plate. The pitching, however, has struggled, with their top three starters all with ERAs over 4.50.

TRENDING UPWARD: BRACKENRIDGE'S AVERAGE
In conjunction with the Knights ERA dropping, Lyle "Kalani" Brackenridge has been raising his batting average steadily. Brackenridge was mired in a deep slump after the first game of a doubleheader with CBU on March 9, getting hits in only two of the first fourteen games, but since then has only been held without a hit in three of the 17 games since then, raising his batting 160 points over that span.

HPU SWEEPS, RUNS STREAK TO SIX
With their recent four-game sweep of island rival Hilo coupled with their two wins against Point Loma Nazarene University before that, Hawaii Pacific has now won six in a row heading into the series with Academy of Art. The Sea Warriors are owners of a dominant record at home, going 17-9 so far this year, and sit in fifth place in the conference. Kale Sumner is among the best hitters in the league, hitting .394 with an outrageous .530 on-base percentage and a .591 slugging percentage. Marvin Campbell, and outfielder and first-baseman for HPU, is another threat on offense, hitting .348 and slugging .593 on the year. Michael Murray and Joshua Garcia each have four wins on the mound.

ON DECK
Although the series will finish UH Hilo's season, the Knights will return home for an eleven-game homestand, taking on Cal State Stanislaus and Holy Names to finish the month of April and wrapping up the year with four games against Azusa Pacific.