Games #40 & 41
ART U Urban Knights (16-23, 10-12 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (3-34, 0-19 PWC)
Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 12:00 & 2:00 PM
Moraga, CA – Saint Mary's College
Twitter Updates

Games #42 & 43
ART U Urban Knights (16-23, 10-12 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (3-34, 0-19 PWC)
Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 12:00 & 2:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats
Twitter Updates

ART U MEETS DOMINICAN FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON
In Academy of Art University softball's first week of action since returning from Hawaii, the Urban Knights dominated a doubleheader with Holy Names and then were just edged out in a defense-heavy pairing with Notre Dame de Namur. ART U will look to bounce back in Pacific West Conference play this week versus Dominican, against whom Academy of Art is 10-0 all time. The teams will face one another in a four-game series with the second day featuring this year's Swing for a Cause.

2012 SWING FOR A CAUSE
The Urban Knights and With Hope, The Amber Craig Memorial Foundation will team up to present the 2012 Swing for a Cause event happening this Sunday, Apr. 15 during ART U's matchup with Dominican. While the two PacWest squads will face off on the field, they also will be teaming up to support local causes. The Knights and Penguins will wear special jerseys that will be sold in a silent auction during the doubleheader.


Donations and proceeds from ART U's jerseys will support the Amber Craig Memorial Foundation that helps others prevent suicide through education while proceeds from Dominican's jerseys will support the spinal injury work of Kentfield Rehabilitation and Specialty Center. Learn more about the extraordinary efforts of the Amber Craig Memorial Foundation at www.withhopefoundation.org and the Kentfield Rehabilitation and Specialty Center at www.kentfieldrehab.com.

**SPECIAL FAN BUS EVENT**
Be sure to sign up for the Fan Bus to this Sunday's Swing for a Cause doubleheader. If you are an Academy of Art University student, just click the following link, go to Softball, and ride to the games for free!


FIRST PITCH
Academy of Art starts off the road-home series with a pair of games at Dominican's home field of Saint Mary's College in Moraga, CA on Saturday, Apr. 14. ART U and DUC will then turn around and play at Mission Blue Field in Brisbane, CA on Sunday, Apr. 15. Both days feature first pitches at 12:00 PM. Various forms of live coverage will be available including Live Stats and Twitter updates (see above). Remember to check @UrbanKnightNews on Twitter for score updates and recaps. Also become a fan of the Knights on Facebook by 'Like'-ing the Urban Knights page.

KNIGHT WATCH
ART U currently owns the fourth highest team batting average in the PacWest (.296) and sits atop the list of teams in stolen bases (59). Sophomore outfielder Elyse Cordova has contributed mightily to both categories with a team-best .425 batting average (3rd in PacWest) and 14 stolen bases (3rd in PacWest) this season. Senior outfielder Ashley Lokey remains on an absolute tear through 39 games in 2012 as she leads the Knights with 31 runs scored (4th in PacWest), a .388 batting average (5th in PacWest), a .643 slugging percentage (6th in PacWest), a .473 on-base percentage (4th in PacWest), four triples (3rd in PacWest), and 19 walks (3rd in PacWest). The Eugene, OR native also has six home runs, 26 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases to her name while senior infielder Genna Allen paces the team and the conference with seven home runs as well as 31 RBIs (6th in PacWest). A solid recent week came from freshman Haily MacDonald who hit .538 (7-for-13) with two runs scored, two RBIs, and three stolen bases in four games to earn her first career PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll selection.

MacDonald (5-6) also added two solid appearances in the circle, amassing 14.0 innings in which she allowed just four earned runs, walked one, and struck out three. The freshman is of course part of a one-two ART U punch which also features junior Kimberly Dauer (10-9). Dauer, who has allowed only six earned runs in her last 42.2 innings pitched, now boasts a 2.87 ERA (9th in PacWest) and ranks 6th in the conference in wins (10), 6th in strikeouts (69), 5th in innings pitched (127.0), and 5th in complete games (14).

PUTTING THE PENGUINS ON ICE
Dominican started off 2012 by winning two of its first five games, but it has been a challenging road since then. DUC lost 26 consecutive games which included the Penguins' start to PacWest play in Hawaii. Dominican has yet to face NDNU this year, however, and did pick up a 5-4 victory over Humboldt to break the streak. The Penguins come into this weekend's action having sustained a four-game sweep at the hands of Grand Canyon. The Penguins are paced offensively by Kayleigh Klingberg who owns a .293 batting average to go with 11 doubles, two home runs, and 11 RBIs. In the circle, Karly Harris (2-12) leads the way with a 5.73 ERA as well as 35 strikeouts in 83.0 innings pitched. Originally scheduled to play Dixie State prior to its series with ART U, Dominican rescheduled those games to next week due to inclement weather.

KNIGHTS SPLIT IN FOUR GAMES SINCE RETURNING FROM ISLANDS
Back after a lengthy time off following its return from playing 12 games in Hawaii, ART U closed out its non-conference season with a pair of victories over Holy Names then took two defensive losses to NDNU last week. Beginning with HNU, the Urban Knights captured a 5-1 win in the opener thanks to a strong complete game by Dauer and a late three-run rally to prevent a late Hawks comeback. Academy of Art then unleashed a season-high 17-hit barrage and MacDonald threw a strong 7.0 innings in the second contest where the Knights won 8-4. Traveling not far down the Peninsula to take on the Argonauts in Belmont, CA, ART U battled tough pitching with impressive defense and its own one-two punch in the circle. However, it was not the Knights' day on this occasion as NDNU prevailed 1-0 and 2-0 despite only scoring three earned runs in the doubleheader combined.

LOOKING AHEAD
After wrapping up with Dominican this week, the Urban Knights next turn their attention to Cal Baptist, the PacWest's newest addition. ART U and CBU will play a four-game series spanning two days beginning on Apr. 20.