Games #10 & 11
ART U Urban Knights (2-7) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (6-5)
Friday, February 15, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #12 & 13
ART U Urban Knights (2-7) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (6-5)
Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

PACWEST PLAY BEGINS WITH VULCANS IN TOWN
Coming out of the 2013 Desert Stinger where Academy of Art University picked up its first two wins of the season, the Urban Knights now not only play their first home games of the year, but also open up a 32-game Pacific West Conference schedule. ART U hosts UH Hilo this Friday and Saturday for a four-game series.

FIRST PITCH
The Urban Knights make their first appearance of the season at Mission Blue Field this Friday, Feb. 15 for a doubleheader with UH Hilo. The following afternoon, ART U is back on the diamond to play the final two games of the series. Both days will feature twinbills each starting at 12:00 PM. Live Stats will be available for all games in this series. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Through a total of nine games this season, there are three Urban Knights who sport a batting average above .300. Having gone 2-for-6 with a pinch-hit double to start a six-run ART U rally versus Central Washington, senior Alyssa Hickey is currently atop the category. Sophomore Haily MacDonald has added a .310 clip with a team-high eight runs scored as well. At the top of the batting order with MacDonald, junior Elyse Cordova is also hitting .310 and had her first home run of the year most recently against New Mexico Highlands. Freshman Shelby Gill leads the team with six RBIs and a home run.

In the circle, both sophomore Kristin Valdivia (1-1) and senior Kimberly Dauer (1-3) each have wins for the Knights and sport a 1.83 ERA and 3.28 ERA respectively. Dauer has provided a solid 21.1 innings pitched while Valdivia has delivered 15.1 relief innings.

VULCANS VASCILATING
The University of Hawaii at Hilo opened up its season with a pair of wins in the Kona Kickoff Classic at the start of February. After defeating Saint Martin's and BYU-Hawaii by scores of 3-1 and 1-0, the Vulcans then took three losses including some Saint Martin's revenge in a 6-5 decision. However, UH Hilo then finished off the tournament with a 6-3 win over Western Washington and proceeded to reel off two more victories against the Vikings two days later. Now on the mainland for a total of eight games, the Vulcans come into this week's meeting with the Knights having going 2-2, sweeping Cal State East Bay and being swept by Cal State Monterey Bay. Thus far, the team is led offensively by Rebecca Lee and her .429 batting average as well as seven runs scored and five RBIs. Colleen Aubrey has also provided pop, hitting .375 with three extra-base hits and five runs scored. In the circle, Vanessa Salinas (3-1) has amassed the most innings pitched (28.0) through four starts and sports a 1.93 ERA with 17 strikeouts.

URBAN KNIGHTS GO 2-3 AT DESERT STINGER
For the fourth time in program history, Academy of Art traveled to Las Vegas, NV for the Desert Stinger Tournament hosted by Montana State-Billings. After starting with a tough 6-1 loss to the University of Mary, ART U bounced back to top Central Washington 8-7 thanks to a six-run sixth inning. The Knights continued their winning ways early in day two, run-ruling Black Hills State 11-2 thanks to a big second inning that saw eight ART U players touch home plate. Later in the day, Academy of Art was locked in a tough battle with Western New Mexico and ended up falling 7-6 in eight innings after the employment of the international tie-breaker rule. Finally, the Urban Knights finished their trip with a 12-4 loss to New Mexico Highlands after early offense put the Cowgirls ahead.

LOOKING AHEAD
Back on the road after starting conference play against UH Hilo, the Urban Knights head south for their first meeting with Azusa Pacific on Friday, Feb. 22 followed by another doubleheader with California Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 23.