KNIGHT WATCH
Collectively slugging .475 through their first five games, Academy of Art ranks second in the PacWest. Six extra-base hits including a pair of home runs has their slugging percentage (.517) first in the conference. There are a total of seven Urban Knights hitting above .300 with senior outfielder Haily MacDonald (.438) and freshman outfielder Samantha Klune (.400) topping the list. MacDonald is currently seventh in the PacWest and Klune is 12th and they share the team-lead with three runs scored apiece. Klune has added two home runs and four runs batted in over the first 15 at-bats of her collegiate career, becoming the first player to do so at Academy of Art. Sophomore infielder Jessica West has five hits through 14 at-bats (.357) and both Knights catchers, junior Elise Oldham and grad student Nirana Singh, are each hitting .333. Senior infielder Jasmine Dickenson shares the team-lead in RBIs with four thus far.

ART U hurlers, freshman Brenna Mitchell (2-1) and sophomore Alexa Peters (1-1), come off back-to-back strong performances with Mitchell throwing 2.2 scoreless innings to pick up a relief win over Stanislaus and Peters going a complete 7.0 innings with two runs allowed on five hits at SF State. Mitchell now sports a 1.09 ERA through 19.1 innings and Peters has dropped to a 4.50 ERA in her first 14.0 innings in the circle.

COUGARS LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY
It has been a very up-and-down year for the 6-5 Azusa Pacific thus far. The Cougars split their first two series with UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino before going into the Montana State-Billings Desert Stinger. There they dominated Cal State Dominguez Hills 11-1, turned around and lost to Cal State Monterey Bay 11-0, then fell to Saint Martin's 13-4 all in one day. The following day saw APU rally past Simon Fraser 12-6 then drop a 6-4 decision to Minot State. The Cougars most recently pushed past Adelphi in both sides of a doubleheader on Feb. 17. Azusa Pacific's top hitter is Nicki Sprague who comes in hitting .483 with 10 runs scored and five steals while Sona Babayan is the squad's power leader with two home runs and 12 RBIs. In the circle, Carly Xepoleas (2-2, 3.00 ERA, 28.0 IP) and Narissa Garcia (4-2, 3.66 ERA, 36.1 IP) have thrown all but seven innings for APU. The Cougars have won the past five matchups with the Knights, making them 5-2 all-time.

IN THE WILD
Central Washington has played five games thus far and all have come in the MSUB Desert Stinger. The Wildcats topped New Mexico Highlands, Humboldt State, and Cal State Dominguez Hills by significant margins, edged Easter New Mexico, and fell 7-1 to #3 Dixie State. CWU will begin a Bay Area tour with a Feb. 21 matchup at Dominican then a Feb. 22 stop at Holy Names before they reach Mission Blue Field on Feb. 23. The team is led by Remy Bradley's .462 average, but it is Austin Wiklerson who has provided the power with two home runs and eight RBIs as part of her .389 average. Among the two main starters, Lindsey Kamphuis (2-0) sports a 3.89 ERA with 12 strikeouts through 18.0 innings. The Knights and Wildcats are an even 2-2 historically with a most recent 12-10 win last year that several ART U players will fondly remember (the senior class went a combined 8-for-15 with eight RBIs in that game alone).

THE GREAT SONOMA STATE
Eight games into their 2015 campaign, Sonoma State has won six times with five of those coming at the MSUB Desert Stinger. The Seawolves topped host MSUB, #23 California Baptist, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's, and Regis including those final three by a collective 29-run margin. SSU will face Cal State Dominguez Hills in a four-game series that starts CCAA play on Feb. 20-21 before hosting the Urban Knights. The team has three players hitting .500 or higher led by Taylor Batey's .583 average which includes three home runs and seven RBIs. Defensively, Amanda Llerena (4-1) has thrown a strong 35.0 innings and has a 2.40 ERA with 34 strikeouts to show for it. In a historical matchup that has seen 11 meetings, the Seawolves hold a 10-1 lead on Academy of Art.

HOMERS, DEFENSE PROPEL ART U TO 3-2 WIN
It was a thrilling come-from-behind victory for ART U Softball on Feb. 11 as the Urban Knights rallied behind a pair of home runs to defeat San Francisco State 3-2 at SFSU Softball Field. Oldham blasted a solo shot out of the park in the fourth to tie it then Klune powered a two-run bomb in the sixth all while Peters and the Academy of Art defense worked through a complete game with just five hits allowed.

LOOKING AHEAD
ART U will continue its tour of the CCAA with a doubleheader at Humboldt State on Monday, Mar. 2 and what will now be their first visit to Turlock this season at Cal State Stanislaus on Wednesday, Mar. 4.