Games #43 & 44
ART U Urban Knights (21-21, 13-11 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (4-31, 2-20 PWC)
Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

ART U TO HONOR SENIORS IN REMATCH WITH HNU
Coming off a week in which the Urban Knights scored 45 runs in four victories, Academy of Art University softball is set to host Holy Names this Saturday for its final home gameday of the season. Prior to first pitch, ART U will hold a special pre-game ceremony for its three seniors, outfielder Mariah Latham, pitcher Alexa Peters, and outfielder Jessica West.

FIRST PITCH
On Saturday, Apr. 15, Academy of Art will tentatively start its Senior Day ceremony at 11:45 a.m. with first pitch of the doubleheader scheduled for noon out at Mission Blue Field. The second game is slated for 2 p.m. and the first 200 fans to that contest will be treated to two free tacos from 333 Truck. 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
Increasing their batting average after recording 53 hits in four games last week, Academy of Art currently ranks third in the Pacific West Conference behind No. 22 Dixie State (.348) and No. 17 California Baptist (.321). The Urban Knights' 74 stolen bases (33rd in the country and 12 off the program's single-season record are second in the conference and their 66 doubles (18 off the program's single-season record) and 199 runs are both third. With three hitters on hitting streaks of five or more games currently, ART U will send six hitters to the plate batting over .300 (based on minimum 40 at-bats). None is more dangerous than freshman utility Dominique Seva'aetasi who earned PacWest Player of the Week after hitting .889 (8-for-9) in the four games and raising her batting average to .316. She rides a seven-game hit streak. Sophomore outfielder Juliana Lopez comes in hitting .343 with her own seven-game hit streak and yet it is another Knight, freshman infielder Freddie Carrillo, who owns the highest average (.394) and is eighth in the PacWest.

Senior outfielder Jessica West is hitting .359 with at least one run batted in in five of her last six games. She continues to build upon the program's career walks record with 27 on the year (third in PacWest) to go with 15 steals (sixth in PacWest) and 26 runs scored. Sophomore infielder Brenna Youngquist is up to .340 for her average with a team-best three homers, 20 RBIs, and a five-game hitting streak in tow. Freshman infielder Gracie Sotomayor rose to .333 and is second on the team with nine doubles and 12 steals.

Freshman Hannah Rose Balke (18-7) captured her second PacWest Pitcher of the Week honor after recording wins in all four Academy of Art contests and adding her second no-hitter (also the second in program history against a NCAA Division II opponent). Her 18 victories rank 19th in all of Division II and lead the conference, she is the PacWest leader in innings pitched (154.2) by more than 24, has the third-most strikeouts (111), and sports a 2.90 ERA (14th in PacWest). Opponents have dropped to hitting just .216 against her (on pace for lowest in program single-season history), her four shutouts have her tied with Brenna Mitchell (2015) for second in ART U history, and she needs just three more wins to surpass Mitchell, the program's first 20-game winner, for the single-season program record.

FAMILIAR NAMES
Going up against Academy of Art for the first time this season on Apr. 9, Holy Names ended up sustaining its eighth and ninth losses in the Hawks' past 10 games. HNU is slated to face Hawaii Pacific on Apr. 14, one day prior to the team's rematch with ART U. After being no-hit by Balke in the opener, nine Hawks put the bat on the ball in game two including one of the squad's leading hitters in Megan Porche who has a .304 batting average with three home runs. Courtney Tarbat (1-5) remains HNU's top pitcher despite a 7.54 ERA through six starts. After last Sunday's results, the Knights now hold a 16-7 advantage all-time against Holy Names.


ACADEMY OF ART DOMINATES SWORDS IN SWEEP
Riding the backs of a formidable offense and Hannah Rose Balke's second-career no-hitter, the Urban Knights swept Holy Names for their fourth and fifth-consecutive PacWest victories in Hayward on Apr. 9. Balke allowed just two walks only in a 9-0 win to begin the day then the offense continued to roll, scoring in double-digits once more for an 11-5 victory in game two.

LOOKING AHEAD
Although the Knights' home games are finished in 2017, ART U still has three more road doubleheaders to play before it wraps up the year. The first two will be rematches against local opponents, at Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont on Apr. 19 and at Dominican in San Rafael on Apr. 22.