Games #5 & 6
ART U Urban Knights (1-2-1) vs. Central Washington Wildcats (4-1)
Friday, February 12, 2016 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #7 & 8
ART U Urban Knights (1-2-1) vs. Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (3-2)
Saturday, February 13, 2016 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #9 & 10
ART U Urban Knights (1-2-1) vs. SF State Gators (0-0)
Sunday, February 14, 2016 at Noon & 2 p.m.
San Francisco – SFSU Softball Field
Live Stats

ART U READY FOR SIX GAMES IN THREE DAYS
After opening its 2016 season with doubleheaders against No. 13 Humboldt State and Chico State last week, Academy of Art University softball now digs in for three matchups over this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Urban Knights will start by hosting Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference then get another California Collegiate Athletic Association pairing with SF State on the road.

FIRST PITCH
Mission Blue Field will be the site of ART U's first two doubleheaders this week with Central Washington coming in on Friday, Feb. 12 followed by Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Feb. 13. Then, Academy of Art will not need to travel far to SF State's Softball Field for their contests on Sunday, Feb. 14. All twinbills will begin at noon with the second to follow approximately 20 minutes after. Live coverage will be available via 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
Through the team's first four contests, Brenna Youngquist has emerged with the highest batting average (.417) and a four-game hitting streak. She clubbed the first home run of her collegiate career in the Knights' most recent game at Chico State on Feb. 6 and leads the squad with two runs batted in. Junior outfielder Jessica West comes into the week hitting .273 with two runs scored.

In the pitcher's circle, sophomore Brenna Mitchell (1-1) has led the way with a 2.52 ERA and two complete games in 16.2 innings pitched. She has appeared in all four ART U games thus far and has allowed just two extra-base hits in 72 batters faced.

IN THE WILD
Central Washington was named the GNAC Team of the Week after going 4-1 in Montana State Billings' Desert Stinger Tournament. The Wildcats started with wins over Regis and Cal State Monterey Bay, fell to Concordia 7-3, then edged UH Hilo and Cal State San Bernardino to finish tied for the second-best record of the 24 teams in the tournament. Kiana Wood (2-0) boasted the lowest ERA of any pitcher in the field at 2.23 across 22.0 innings pitched. Offensively, Brielle Copodonna stood out with a .444 batting average (4-for-9) while 2015 First Team All-GNAC selection Kailyn Campbell drove in a team-high five runs and hit .389 (7-for-18). The Knights hold a 4-3 lead in their all-time matchup with Central Washington after sweeping a doubleheader last year.

ON A CRUSADE
Northwest Nazarene was also in the MSUB Desert Stinger, coming away 3-2 after two days of action. The Crusaders defeated Minot State and Azusa Pacific then dropped an 11-9 final to Cal State Dominguez Hills in an opening day tripleheader. Then it was a 6-2 win over Western New Mexico and narrow 6-5 defeat at the hands of New Mexico Highlands that concluded NNU's week. Northwest Nazarene, scheduled to play SF State on Feb. 12 prior to ART U, is led by Cassidy Fifield who posted the most hits (12) and third-highest batting average (.571) of the Desert Stinger. On the rubber, Kendall Goodwin (2-1) sports the lowest ERA in the GNAC at 1.59 through 17.0 innings of work. This Saturday will be the first time the teams have met since 2014 when ART U improved to 2-0 against NNU with a 6-5 victory.

GAUGING THE GATORS
Yet to play a game in 2016, SF State has both Northwest Nazarene (Feb. 12) and Notre Dame de Namur (Feb. 13) on tap prior to its Feb. 14 gameday hosting the Urban Knights. The Gators come off a 2015 season that saw them go 12-40 which set them up to be picked 11th in the CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.  Under first year head coach Lisa Allen, SFSU returns 13 players such as Jennifer Lewis who hit .291 and was named to the All-CCAA Honorable Mention team. In the circle, the Gators return 82 percent of the innings thrown from last season including Megan Clark   who led the team in wins (4) and ERA (3.63). The historical matchup favors ART U 6-4 after the Knights swept all three 2015 meetings.

KNIGHTS PICK UP FIRST WIN IN SPLIT AT CHICO
Academy of Art University softball headed out on the road for the first time on Feb. 6 and came away with its first win as part of a split with Chico State at University Field. Scoreless through the first five innings, game one saw the Wildcats take a 2-0 lead in the sixth before Academy of Art countered with three in the seventh for a 3-2 victory. The home team got ahead early in game two and the end result was a 14-1 Chico State win in five innings.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Knights' home-heavy first month of action continues with back-to-back days hosting Cal State East Bay (Feb. 19) and Texas A&M-Commerce (Feb. 20) next week.