Games #37 & 38
ART U Urban Knights (12-24) vs. Cal State East Bay Pioneers (20-23)
Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #39 & 40
ART U Urban Knights (12-24, 9-11 PWC) vs. NDNU Argonauts (19-25, 11-12 PWC)
Friday, April 18, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #41 & 42
ART U Urban Knights (12-24, 9-11 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (19-22, 9-11 PWC)
Saturday, April 19, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Kentfield, CA – College of Marin Softball Field
Live Stats

Games #43 & 44
ART U Urban Knights (12-24, 9-11 PWC) vs. NDNU Argonauts (19-25, 11-12 PWC)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats
 

BAY AREA BATTLES ON DECK THIS WEEK
The Urban Knights will see many local faces this week as Cal State East Bay, Notre Dame de Namur, and Dominican are all on the upcoming schedule. A home-heavy stretch to end the year continues with the Pioneers in town Wednesday before Academy of Art returns to Pacific West Conference play hosting NDNU Friday and next Tuesday with games at Dominican in between.

FIRST PITCH
The non-conference season will be concluded with the Knights' 12:00 PM doubleheader hosting Cal State East Bay this Wednesday, Apr. 16 at Mission Blue Field. A rain-rescheduled 12:00 PM doubleheader with NDNU follows on Friday, Apr. 19 back in Brisbane then ART U travels across the bay to College of Marin Softball Field for a 1:00 PM doubleheader against Dominican. In a bit of déjà vu, Academy of Art again faces NDNU at Mission Blue on Tuesday, Apr. 22. 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 that included 12 runs batted in and two home runs (one a grand slam) led Taylor Thurman to her second PacWest Player of the Week honor. She now sits at fifth in the conference with 41 RBIs and is just five away from setting a new program record. Thurman, now hitting .387, adds four home runs, 11 doubles, and 18 runs scored. She is also 11th in the PacWest in slugging percentage (.595). The two teammates she has regularly driven in, Kamyle Glover and Elyse Cordova, are ahead of her in batting average with Glover fifth in the conference at .438 (28 R, 16 RBI, 6 2B) and Cordova 10th in the PacWest at .406 (27 R, 9 2B, 16 RBI). A trio of multi-hit games pushed Haily MacDonald's average up to .288 while Lauren Stover became the program's new career RBI leader with 92 in total after a two-run single in her last game. Elise Oldham is second on the squad with 25 RBIs after driving in six this past week. In the rotation, Jill Johnson (7-9) saw her ERA rise a bit to 4.29 to go with 65 strikeouts in 98.0 innings pitched. 

PIONEERS PEAKING
The Pioneers are currently 20-23 and 13-15 in the CCAA conference, sixth but just two games away from fourth place, an improvement from last year's 17-35 season. They are on a four-game winning streak. Sophomore outfielder Lauren Vestal leads the team in average with .341 average and is tied for the team lead in runs scored. Senior Chelsie Kakela and junior Kelsey LaVaute form a devastating power duo in the Pioneer lineup with a combined 17 home runs and 63 RBIs (LaVaute with nine HR and 32 RBI | Kakela with eight HR and 31 RBI). Freshman Jordan Abel is 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA on the mound with Emily Perlich third in the CCAA in strikeouts with 101. The Pioneers swept a two-game series last March against the Knights, 3-2 in both games. 

ARGOS AWAITING
Notre Dame de Namur is 17-25 and 10-13 in the Pac-West and is 1-6 in their last seven games. They host Holy Names on Tuesday for a doubleheader before hosting the Knights. Senior Kayla Anderson leads the team with a .318 batting average, while junior infielder Breanna Young is the Argo's force in the in the lineup. She has a .306 average, a team-high 10 doubles, eight home runs (tied for fourth in PacWest), and 33 RBIs. Freshman Jenna Brassler is 10-8 on the mound with a 4.40 ERA and 109 strikeouts, which is second in the PacWest and one strikeout from first place. The two teams split two evenly played games earlier in the year as the Knights dropped a 9-8 contest before winning 10-8 on Feb. 22 in Belmont. 

PENGUINS PUSHING
The fifth-placed Penguins are 19-22 overall and 9-11 in the PacWest. They have won five of their last six games and host Holy Names of Friday before hosting the Knights. Sophomore Tori Johnson leads the team with a .360 batting average and is first on the team in runs scored with 26. Senior Kayleigh Klingberg has a .337 batting average and leads the team in home runs (3), while Leslie Mesa leads has a team-leading 11 doubles and 22 RBIs. Sophomore Ashlyn Moriarity is 12-10 in the circle with a 3.31 ERA. The Academy of Art took three of four from the Dominican in 2013. 

AZUSA TAKES FOUR IN COMPETITVE SERIES WITH ART U
After sweeping Holy Names with two high-scoring victories (8-7, 11-5) on Apr. 9, the Urban Knights entered a series with Azusa Pacific that saw a little bit of everything. In the opener on Apr. 11, the teams were close until the final inning which saw the Cougars rally to their eventual 10-1 win. Game two was a nine-inning rollercoaster which nearly ended in the seventh with ART U needing one final strike, but APU instead stayed alive with a two-run homer and won 14-9.

Day two began on an exciting note with an authoritative grand slam from  Thurman, but several small rallies by the Cougars brought them back and eventually put them ahead 6-4. The series finale was a one-run ballgame for the first half and, though APU got up 6-0, the Urban Knights countered with two rallies which saw Stover  break the program's career RBI record and ART U bring the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. It was not to be, however, as Azusa escaped with the win.

ON DECK
It will be nothing but home games from here on out for ART U Softball following this week. On Friday, Apr. 25, the Knights host California Baptist for a pair then Senior Day is set for Saturday, Apr. 26 against Dixie State before the season finale has Dominican in town on Monday, Apr. 28.