Games #23 & 24
ART U Urban Knights (7-15, 5-7 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (11-26, 4-12 PacWest)
Friday, March 28, 2014 at 11:00 AM
San Leandro, CA – Thrasher Field
Live Stats

Games #25 & 26
ART U Urban Knights (7-15, 5-7 PacWest) vs. NDNU Argonauts (14-18, 8-11 PacWest)
Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

KNIGHTS STAY LOCAL WITH THIS WEEK'S PAIRINGS
Following a week off from competitive action after their 10-game Hawaii roadtrip, Academy of Art matches up with Holy Names and Notre Dame de Namur this Friday and Saturday in the Bay Area. The Urban Knights come off three consecutive splits in doubleheaders to close out their time on the islands.

FIRST PITCH
Weather permitting, ART U first heads across the bay to San Leandro and Thrasher Field for an 11:00 AM doubleheader with Holy Names on Friday, Mar. 28. The next day, Saturday, Mar. 29, the Knights are scheduled to host Notre Dame de Namur in a 12:00 PM doubleheader at Mission Blue Field. Live Stats will be available at the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
A stellar week for Taylor Thurman earned her Pacific West Player of the Week honors as she hit over .520 with 14 RBIs on the last six games of ART U's Hawaii roadtrip. Now up to a .368 batting average and eight doubles on the year, she brings in game streaks in hits (6), RBIs (5), and runs scored (5). Kamyle Glover, however, has the highest batting average on the team and sixth in the PacWest (.413) along with slugging a team-high .540 after six extra-base hits (four doubles, two triples). Glover, like Thurman, has a six-game hitting streak coming into Wednesday while Elyse Cordova carries a five-game hit streak and is hitting .367 with 16 runs scored. Haily MacDonald leads the team with 17 runs scored, having crossed the plate eight times in her last five games. In the career watch, Mac-Donald is five hits away from the 100-hit milestone and Lauren Stover is eight RBIs from becoming the all-time career leader.

In the circle, Jill Johnson (4-7) has thrown the most innings on the team (64.0) and offers the lowest ERA (4.38). She has struck out 40 batters in her 11 starts and picked up two saves while in Hawaii.

BAY BRIDGE BATTLE BACK ON
Though Holy Names enters the week with the lowest record in the PacWest, they come with three wins in their last four games. The Hawks started the year defeating only Cal State Stanislaus out of five games in the Best of the West Invitational. From there, HNU was swept by both Vanguard and Whittier, split with Central Washington, then defeated Concordia (OR) and Menlo College before beginning PacWest play in Hawaii. There, Holy Names defeated Chaminade in three of four, but was swept by BYU-Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific, and UH Hilo. Back on the mainland, a 4-3 win against Azusa Pacific was the squad's lone victory out of a span of eight games that included series with Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State East Bay, and Dixie State. Offensively, the team is led by Lyveana Ilayan's .333 average which go with 17 RBIs, 11 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. Fellow freshman Courtney Tarbat is not far behind, sporting a .304 average with 16 RBIs. In the pitcher's circle, Nicole Ochoa (3-6) has led the way with a 3.73 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched. The Knights and Hawks split their four games last season and ART U holds a 6-5 all-time lead.

ARGO-ING AGAIN
Since the high-scoring split between Notre Dame de Namur and Academy of Art in mid-February, the Argonauts have gone 8-11 and currently reside in the middle of the PacWest standings just ahead of ART U. NDNU's Hawaii roadtrip saw them take one of four from UH Hilo, fall twice to HPU, split with Chaminade, and sweep BYU-Hawaii. Playing the upper tier in the PacWest after that, Notre Dame de Namur snagged one from Dixie State, forced a split with Azusa Pacific, but most recently fell to California Baptist by two double-digit margins. In NDNU's last three wins, they have collectively out-scored their opponents 14-0. The team is led by Lindsay Handy (.328 batting average, three home runs, 12 RBI) who hit two home runs and drove in five against Academy of Art in game two on Feb. 22. Defensively, Jenna Bassler (8-6) guides the squad in the circle, offering a 3.33 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched thus far. In the historical matchup, the Knights hold a 12-10 all-time lead.

ART U GOES 4-6 IN HAWAII
Beginning with an inspired 10-8 victory over last year's PacWest champs UH Hilo on Mar. 13, Academy of Art earned one victory over each of its Hawaii opponents during a 10-game trip to the islands. The Vulcans came back to defeat ART U 8-4 in the second game and Hawaii Pacific took the first three before the Knights used a two-run rally in the fourth inning of the final contest to win 4-3 on Mar. 16. Against Chaminade on Mar. 18, the teams combined to score 32 runs in what ended up a 9-8 Silverswords victory in eight innings followed by a 12-3 triumph for Academy of Art. The final day of the trip, Mar. 20, saw more large scores with ART U prevailing 8-7 in the opener and falling 9-7 in game two.

ON DECK
After this week is complete, Academy of Art will travel to Turlock for the Tournament of Champions hosted by Cal State Stanislaus. The Knights begin with a triple-header on Friday, Apr. 4 which features matchups with Cal State San Bernardino (8:45 AM), Northwest Nazarene (11:15 AM), and Cal State Monterey Bay (3:30 PM). The following day, ART U faces Sonoma State (10:00 AM) and San Francisco State (12:00 PM) before their Apr. 6 opponent will be decided.