Game #28 & 29
ART U Urban Knights (10-16, 3-9 PacWest) at CUI Golden Eagles (11-11, 6-5 PacWest)
Friday, March 31, 2023 at 2 & 5:30 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. – Eagles FIeld
Live Stats and Video

Game #30 & 31
ART U Urban Knights (10-16, 3-9 PacWest) at CUI Golden Eagles (11-11, 6-5 PacWest)
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at noon & 3:30 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. – Eagles Field
Live Stats and Video

Game #32
ART U Urban Knights (10-16, 3-9 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (17-7, 8-5 PacWest)
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 6 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College
Live Stats and Video

Game #33
ART U Urban Knights (10-16, 3-9 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (17-7, 8-5 PacWest)
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 6 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College
Live Stats and Video

Game #34 & 35
ART U Urban Knights (10-16, 3-9 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (17-7, 8-5 PacWest)
Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 1 & 4 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College
Live Stats and Video

BUSY BODIES
Looking to get back into the win column after its recent four-game series against Biola, there will be ample opportunity for Academy of Art baseball as the Urban Knights will compete in eight games over the course of seven days starting with a four-game Pacific West Conference series on the road against Concordia before returning to the Bay Area to host UH Hilo for four. 

FIRST PITCH
ART U's series with the Eagles will be split into a pair of doubleheaders, with the series beginning on Friday at 2 and 5:30 p.m. before the series concludes on Saturday at noon and 3:30 p.m. Meanwhile, when the Knights return home to face off against the Vulcans, they will do so over three days with the series opener on April 4 at 6 p.m. and game two on April 5 at 6 p.m. while the series ends with a doubleheader on April 6 at 1 and 4 p.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.

KNIGHTS' QUEST
Academy of Art blasted three homers over the course of its four-game set with Biola, but despite holding a lead in three of the four contests (including scoring first in games two and four), it was the Eagles that came away with a PacWest series sweep. In the series-opening doubleheader, multiple extra-base hits (including the first home run in an ART U jersey by senior outfielder Hayato Niki) and a manufactured run were key in ART U's comeback to tie game one at 3-3, but a pair of three-run innings in the sixth and eighth were the difference for the Eagles. To end the weekend Academy of Art crushed both of their homers in the series finale, but in both games three and four BU was able to put together multiple run-scoring innings late leading to the twin bill victory. 

It was an 0-3 start to the 2023 season for Academy of Art despite scoring a total of 16 runs (twice scoring six runs in a game), dropping the season opener against Stanislaus State before dropping both games against Sonoma State after rain shortened the series from three games down to two. The first wins of the season followed as they secured exciting solo victories over Fresno Pacific and Central Washington (both non-conference) thanks to home runs in consecutive games from redshirt junior catcher Liam Rizzo, though they were then limited to taking just the middle contest of three against Cal State East Bay. Continuing the stretch was Holy Names and Simpson, as the Hawks took the first matchup of the season with continued offense while Simpson won the only currently completed game of what was supposed to be another three-game series. 

Following that period, Academy of Art was victorious in each of their past four games starting with another solo contest against Holy Names, that this time the Knights got the better of by a 5-2 final to level the season series prior to the duo opening conference play against each other. Rolling into the weekend, rain forced some flexibility into what was originally scheduled as a four-game series, but even still there were three games completed with ART U taking all three in comeback fashion. A four-run sixth inning helped a 5-3 win in the opener, ART U battled through a Menlo six-run first in the middle game to win 12-9, and then closed the series with a four-run inning late combined with a brilliant relief appearance from junior right-hander Koh Maeda leading to a 5-4 victory. 

Just a day later, Maeda was tabbed as the PacWest Pitcher of the Week on March 6, as he held the Menlo bats to just three scattered hits over seven scoreless innings while picking up his second victory of the year in the series finale. This is the first weekly award for Maeda both this season and in his career, though it is the second weekly award by an Urban Knight this season as he joins senior outfielder Hayato Niki who was named the PacWest Player of the Week on Feb. 20. It is the third consecutive year that ART U has had multiple PacWest weekly awards and at least one PacWest Pitcher of the Week. 

While Holy Names won each of the first two games in the first PacWest series of the season for both teams, Academy of Art was able to rally and win the final two games, which included a walk-off win in game three while a solid all-around performance propelled ART U to the series split with the Hawks. Pitching was the theme of the doubleheader during games two and three, as while a pair of runs scored a win for HNU in game two, ART U then had the exciting walk-off win in game three after forcing the pressure on the Hawks' defense which led to the game-winning run scoring on an error. Riding the momentum of the walk-off, the Knights kept it going in the series finale they staked an early lead that they never relented, earning a split in their first PacWest series of the year thanks to a 5-3 victory on a wet and rainy Sunday at Laney College. Having already played six games against each other, splitting them 3-3 with each winning one of the solo non-conference contests over the past couple weeks, that will leave the winner of the regular season's final game between the two teams to decide the season series winner. 

The Urban Knights split the first two games of their PacWest series-opening doubleheader with Fresno Pacific, dropping game one 11-1before coming back and exploding for nine runs on eight hits with yet another homer on the day while junior right-handed starter Devan Quesada was nearly perfect through six innings, resulting in a 9-3 victory during the shortened second game. Unfortunately, FPU would take the series when they swept the second doubleheader the following day, as while ART U scored first in both parts of the twin bill, it was the Sunbirds that scored more to walk away with wins by finals of 8-4 and 4-1. 

KNIGHT WATCH
Though they have since ended, graduate student outfielder Landon Levine had extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his reached bases safely streak made it to 12 games, and his consecutive game with an RBI streak to nine games, all of which are still team highs. Meanwhile, he is still tied for the team lead (among those who qualify) in home runs (three) along with sophomore third baseman Emil Jellinek and RBI (23) along with redshirt junior catcher Liam Rizzo, with both Levine and Rizzo just one RBI short of the ART U single season top 10. Overall on the season Levine is batting .283 (26-for-92) and is 9-for-10 (.900) in stolen base attempts, and is the only Urban Knight with 20 or more runs scored and driven in. 

Sitting atop the squad in batting average is graduate student outfielder Travis Turney at .330 (25-for-75), while hot on his tails is senior outfielder Hayato Niki at .330 (31-for-94; most hits on ART U). Turney is one of five Knights with 10+ runs scored and driven in (Levine, Turney, Rizzo, Henderson, Niki), recording 15 in both categories with team-highs in doubles (nine), OPS (.932), slugging percentage (.453), on-base percentage (.479), and stolen bases (11-for-12; .917). For Niki, he has crossed the plate a total of 21 times (second-most runs scored) while driving in 12 with seven doubles. Leading the team in runs (23) and total bases (42) is freshman shortstop Gabe Henderson, which he has paired with 13 RBI, eight doubles, two triples, and a .284 batting average (27-for-95). 

From the hill, both junior right-handers Koh Maeda and Devan Quesada have earned three wins this season and own a 3-2 record, with Maeda sporting a 4.04 ERA (16 earned runs in 35.2 innings pitched) and a 1.49 WHIP while Quesada has logged a 6.06 ERA (24 earned runs in 35.2 innings pitched) with a 1.23 WHIP. Surpassing them both in ERA has been graduate student righty Cannon Secrist, who has now tossed 28.0 innings on the season while allowing just 11 earned runs for a 3.54 ERA while building a 1-3 record along with a 1.46 WHIP. Among the three, Quesada still holds the edge in strikeouts with a total of 30 on the season, though Secrist has tallied 27 through his six appearances and has five or more in each of his last four games with a season-best of seven las time out against Biola. Excelling out the bullpen this season has been junior right-hander Fernando Dueñas, who holds ART U's second-lowest ERA at 3.76 (11 earned runs in 63.1 innings pitched) to go with his 2-2 record and team-high four saves (which is now second-most in a single ART U season). 

GOLDEN (EAGLE) EYE
With a .500 record thus far through the season and ranked as the No. 10 team in the NCAA West Region, Concordia enters the series with ART U off a loss in the final of four games against Holy Names, but that loss had snapped a previous five-game winning streak as they still took three of four from HNU while also taking two of three from Hawaii Pacific. As a unit the Golden Eagles hit .272 (180-for-661) and average 9.0 runs per contest, with over half of their total hits going for extra bases (40 doubles, two triples, 11 homers), and their pitching staff has logged an overall ERA of 3.91 (77 earned runs in 177.1 innings) with a WHIP of just 3.91. Among the standouts on CUI is Riley O'Sullivan, as the Golden Eagles' ace has logged a 4-1 record and allowed just four earned runs in 46.0 innings pitched for a 0.78 ERA, which he pairs with a 0.61 WHIP while striking out 29 batters to just three walks. At the dish, a trio of Golden Eagles sit above the .300 line led by the .356 (26-for-73) mark of Michael Dixon, who leads the team in nearly all offensive categories including runs scored (15), hits (26) and homers (five). Having won each of the past three head-to-head meetings, Concordia leads Academy of Art in the all-time series, 24-8. 

VUCLANIC ERUPTION
Already with an impressive season that has seen multiple victories over nationally ranked opponents that resulted in earning their own national ranking, UH Hilo is currently 17-7 on the season with an 8-5 mark in PacWest play and received votes to be nationally ranked in the most recent NCBWA poll. Most recently the Vulcans took two of three from Hawaiian Islands foe Hawaii Pacific, scoring 14 and 13 runs respectively in the two victories. Overall Hilo is batting .274 on the season (202-for-736) and average 5.7 runs per game, which includes a pair of Vulcans that are currently hitting above .400 in Casey Yamauchi (.437; 38-for-87) and Ryan Cho (.418; 28-for-67). Yamauchi has scored an impressive 31 runs this season and holds the team lead in doubles (11), triples (two) and home runs (three), while Cho has driven in the most runs with 16 to go with his eight doubles. Meanwhile from the bump, Hilo has a staff ERA of 4.50 (100 earned runs in 200.0 innings) to go with a 1.47 WHIP and 162 total strikeouts. Aaron Davies has been among the best for the Vulcans, going 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA (eight earned runs in 32.1 innings pitched) and a 1.11 WHIP while striking out 27, all of which are or are tied for the team best. Matching Davies' 3-0 record is Eamon Velarde, and just trails Davies in ERA with a 3.06 (11 earned runs in 32.1 innings). UH Hilo has won each of the past two matchups with ART U, and the Vulcans lead the all-time series 49-16. 

KNIGHTS LAUNCH TWO HOMERS BUT EAGLES RALLY LATE TWICE
In both parts of Sunday's twin bill Academy of Art baseball held leads over Biola, spurred on by a total of three home runs on the day, but twice BU was able to put together multiple run-scoring innings late as they went on to take Sunday's Pacific West Conference doubleheader by finals of 6-2 and 11-8 (7 innings) for the series win. 

ON THIS DAY
On March 31, 2017, Academy of Art split a doubleheader with No. 9 Azusa Pacific in exciting fashion, overcoming a game one defeat and a 2-1 deficit in the second of the day's twin bill to pull out a 4-3 extra-innings walk-off victory when Michael Maleski scored on a wild pitch ... On April 2, 2012, the Urban Knights used a four-run sixth inning to catapult ART U to an 8-5 victory in the series finale over UH Hilo, with Spencer Roland tossing a career-best 7.0 innings and giving up only two earned runs in a winning decision while Zach Babitt was 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, and three runs scored ... On April 3, 2021, ART U had an offensive explosion in game one of a PacWest doubleheader against Holy Names, tallying 17 runs on 23 hits as they would cruise to the easy victory by a final of 17-3 before splitting the day's pair of games. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The final home series of the 2023 campaign has arrived for Academy of Art, as the Urban Knights play host to Hawaii Pacific in their final PacWest home series that will take place as a pair of doubleheaders starting at Monday, April 10 at 4 and 7 p.m.