KNIGHT WATCH
Up to second in the PacWest in doubles (66) after setting a new single-game record with six against SF State, Academy of Art has maintained its top-three ranking in batting average for the entire season (now .309). The team collectively needs nine more doubles to break the program record (74) set last year and is also fourth in the conference in runs scored (200). A big contributor to those touches of home plate has been senior outfielder Haily MacDonald. She ranks fourth in the PacWest in runs scored with 39 (nine from tying Ashley Lokey's single-season record) and MacDonald has been setting the base paths ablaze with 25 stolen bases (second in conference and 32nd in the country) as she continues to build upon the single-season program record there. Though her team-best 12-game hit streak came to an end recently, she still sits fifth in the PacWest with a .426 batting average and is the 14th toughest hitter to strikeout in all of NCAA Division II. She would need seven more steals and 13 more runs to become ART U's career record holder in both categories.
 
The tandem of senior infielder Taylor Thurman and freshman outfielder Samantha Klune have been on fire of late, hitting .345 and .342 respectively. Thurman (9) and Klune (9) along with senior infielder Kamyle Glover (11), sophomore outfielder Jessica West (10), and graduate student catcher Nirana Singh (9) are all among the PacWest top-15 in doubles. With four more doubles, Thurman will become the program's career record holder and she currently ranks seventh in the conference in RBIs (31). Additionally, she is currently riding a streak of 16 consecutive games reaching base while Klune, owner of a six-game hitting streak, comes off back-to-back game-winning hits against SF State.

Junior catcher Elise Oldham and Singh are each hitting .328 and are the team's top two home run hitters with six and four respectively. That tandem joins MacDonald (.529) as the Knights' top-three in slugging percentage (all .500 or higher). Oldham remains five home runs from tying Alana Aweau's single-season record (11) and sits one RBI behind Thurman with 30 this season (8th in PacWest). Singh and Glover are tied for the team leader in extra-base hits (13) and it is Glover who, with eight sacrifice hits thus far (fifth in PacWest), needs just six more to set a new program single-season record and become the program's career leader. Glover's 11 doubles are seventh in the PacWest and have her to five from tying Stover's single-season record (16). Hitting .310 on the year, Glover is one of six ART U players batting over .300 and West (.297) is not far behind her teammate in both average and doubles (10).

Brenna Mitchell (15-11) continues to have the best freshman season Academy of Art has ever seen. She has the fifth most wins in the country among freshmen (30th overall) and, with both victories against SF State this week, she needs five more to set a new ART U single-season record. Mitchell tossed her second career shutout in the opener with the Gators and has risen to second in the PacWest in total strikeouts (97). In addition to having the ninth-most strikeouts by a freshman in NCAA DII, Mitchell carries a 3.46 ERA (11th in PacWest). She now has the third-most complete games in program history (17) and is four away from tying Sierrah Garcia's single-season record.

A FAMILIAR NAME
Since their last meeting with Academy of Art on Mar. 7, the Hawks won just one of their next 15 games, falling to Dominican, SF State, Notre Dame de Namur, Humboldt State, Chaminade, and UH Hilo in that span. Holy Names topped NDNU once 5-4 then, more recently, earned three victories in its past nine games, including a 4-1 win over No. 21 Sonoma State in the Tournament of Champions. The Hawks are currently in an uphill battle with BYU-Hawaii for the final two places in the PacWest standings. Lyveana Llayan leads the team offensively with a .306 batting average, four home runs, and 17 RBIs while Karolanne Tipton (4-16) is HNU's top starter with a 5.47 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 128.0 innings pitched. After Academy of Art swept the Hawks in San Leandro earlier this season, ART U now holds a 12-5 lead in the all-time matchup.

COMING ASHORE
After losing their first six games of the season, BYU-Hawaii proceeded to win four of its next six games, sweeping Pacific University then splitting with Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. What followed was an 11-game losing streak before the Seasiders pulled off wins over Faulkner University (Alabama) and once again split with Hawaii Pacific on Mar. 21. The Seasiders face UH Hilo on Apr. 9 and Chaminade on Apr. 10 then make their first trip off the Hawaiian islands to take on ART U next week. They will play members of the PacWest Bay Area pod to complete their season. Through 28 games thus far, BYUH has seven hitters with batting averages above .300, highlighted by Courtney Hiruko (.393 BA, 17 R, 10 RBI) and Lizabelle Talataina (.337 BA, 7 2B, 3 HR, 18 RBI). In the circle, Destyni Valencia (4-10) has handled the bulk of the work, offering a 4.82 ERA through 13 starts and 85.2 innings pitched. The Urban Knights are historically 12-6 versus the Seasiders.

ART U'S DOUBLES KEY DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP
Academy of Art University Softball came out on top in two very different games on a windy day out at SF State Softball Field on Apr. 6. The opener was scoreless until the seventh when a rally pushed ART U over the top 2-0. Then, a six-run third inning highlighted the Urban Knights' 8-7 victory over the Gators after Klune broke the tie with a run-scoring double in the sixth, which also set a new program single-game doubles record. Mitchell was sharp all day long, throwing 9.1 shutout innings across the doubleheader.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Urban Knights' 10-game homestand rolls on with another Hawaii school, Hawaii Pacific, coming to Brisbane on Sunday, Apr. 19 for a noon doubleheader. That sets up the Senior Day finale for ART U versus Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday, Apr. 25.