Games #22 & 23
ART U Urban Knights (9-12, 7-5 PWC) vs. Dixie State (19-4, 10-8 PWC)
Monday, March 18, 2013 at 3:00 PM MT
St. George, UT – Karl Brooks Softball Field
Live Stats

Games #24 & 25
ART U Urban Knights (9-12, 7-5 PWC) vs. Dixie State (19-4, 10-8 PWC)
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM MT
St. George, UT – Karl Brooks Softball Field
Live Stats

ART U HEADS OUT OF STATE TO FACE DIXIE
Academy of Art University Softball will look to make a move up in the Pacific West Conference standings at the start of next week when the Urban Knights travel to Utah for a pair of doubleheaders. This series pits ART U against Dixie State, one of the toughest teams in the PacWest who had been among the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Top 25 teams in the nation until they dropped out this past week.

FIRST PITCH
Departing California for the second time this season, the Urban Knights open a four-game series with Dixie State on Monday, Mar. 18. The teams will play a doubleheader that day and another on Tuesday, Mar. 19 with both beginning at 3:00 PM MT (1:00 PM PT) out at Karl Brooks Softball Field in St. George, UT. Live Stats will be available for these games. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
After notching a pair of hits in the doubleheader against Holy Names, junior Lauren Stover now officially has the longest hitting streak in the past two years with knocks in 13 consecutive games. Her .400 batting average leads the team and she adds 10 RBIs as well as 13 runs scored. Sophomore Haily MacDonald boasts a .389 batting average and paces the team with 17 runs scored along with four stolen bases. Junior Elyse Cordova offers a .300 batting average and 13 runs scored while senior Andrea Hanchey leads ART U in RBIs with 11 driven in thus far.

Junior Kimberly Dauer (4-7) made her team-high 10th start of the year in the most recent series and sports a 2.86 ERA (8th in PacWest) along with 46 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. Dauer's opposing batting average of .216 has her 4th overall in the conference. Still undefeated this year, MacDonald (3-0) has posted a 3.33 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched while sophomore Kristin Valdivia (2-1) leads the team with a 2.52 ERA and a pair of saves in 25.0 innings pitched.

STORMING THE CASTLE
Dixie State began its 2013 campaign by winning four in a row and looking dominant as ever. The Red Storm swept Montana State Billings then mercyed Simon Fraser 13-4 and even bested Sonoma State 3-1. Their first loss came shortly thereafter, however, as #11 Cal State Dominguez Hills executed a 5-4 victory over Dixie and the record began to even out. The Red Storm would start a new successful stretch with a 6-2 win over #23 Molloy, taking six of seven with the only loss a 2-1 result against #16 Central Oklahoma. Losing three in a row after a sweep by Notre Dame de Namur and a shutout by UH Hilo, Dixie State righted the ship while in Hawaii and won eight of its last nine. The Red Storm, who had been ranked #23 in the country until this past week, ride a six-game win streak highlighted by a pair of shutouts against BYU-Hawaii into Monday's meeting with the Urban Knights. Dixie carries a variety of standout offensive talents including Jaelle Judkins (.421, 22 R, 15 SB), Courtney Hine (.395, 7 2B, 16 RBI), and the conference's RBI leader Anna Cue (.378, 8 HR, 27 RBI). Defensively, the tandem of the PacWest's strikeout leader Michelle Duncan (9-2, 2.05 ERA, 68 SO, 65.0 IP) and Mattie Snow (8-4, 2.65 ERA, 53 SO, 79.1 IP) has helped the Red Storm be among the Top 5 pitching staffs in the conference thus far. Dixie State holds an 11-4 advantage against ART U in the all-time series.

HAWKS STOP SOFTBALL'S WINNING STREAK
Coming in having won five of its last six games, the Academy of Art University softball team sustained a pair of tough two-run losses to Holy Names on Mar. 9 out at Larry Standley Field. The day began with early offense by HNU which carried the home team to a 6-4 win despite chances for the Knights. Game two was a pitchers' duel with MacDonald allowing just one hit through 5.0 innings though the Hawks again prevailed 3-1 thanks to a two-run rally in the sixth.

LOOKING AHEAD
Academy of Art returns to Bay Area competition when the Urban Knights meet Notre Dame de Namur for a Mar. 23 doubleheader in Belmont, CA. After that, they will head across the bay to face Cal State East Bay for a pair on Mar. 27.