Games #17 & 18
ART U Urban Knights (10-6, 1-1 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (1-8, 1-1 PWC)
Sunday, March 4, 2018 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Hayward, Calif. – Pioneer Field (Cal State East Bay)
Live Stats

Games #19 & 20
ART U Urban Knights (10-6, 1-1 PWC) vs. NDNU Argonauts (3-15, 2-5 PWC)
Friday, March 9, 2018 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. –  Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

Games #21 & 22
ART U Urban Knights (10-6) vs. Pace Setters (1-8)
Sunday, March 11, 2018 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. –  Mission Blue Field
Live Stats

WEATHER CHANGING ART U SCHEDULE
After its doubleheader with Holy Names was postponed due to wet field conditions, Academy of Art University Softball quickly has an opportunity for a makeup with the games being rescheduled to this Tuesday at Cal State East Bay. Additionally, the Urban Knights, winners of four of their last five games and posting 45 total hits during that stretch, will now play another local Pacific West Conference rival in Notre Dame de Namur on Friday (instead of Saturday) followed by non-conference opponent Pace on Sunday as originally scheduled.

FIRST PITCH
ART U will challenge the Hawks at Cal State East Bay's Pioneer Field in Hayward this Tuesday, Mar. 6 at 1 and 3 p.m. Now one day earlier, the doubleheader between Academy of Art and NDNU will take place this Friday, Mar. 9 at noon back at Mission Blue Field. And that will be the same location for the matchup with Pace this Sunday, Mar. 11 also beginning at noon. 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
Now averaging nearly 10 hits per game in their last five contests, Academy of Art has risen to fourth in the PacWest in total hits (125) as well as third in doubles (23) and third in stolen bases (26). Hitting for extra bases in three of her six at-bats against SF State most recently, senior utility Brenna Mitchell enters the weekend swinging a hot stick. She leads the team with a six-game hitting streak, .386 batting average, and five doubles, putting her sixth in the PacWest in the latter. Two freshmen, infielder Jayda Alaan and pitcher Brooke Larsen, round out the Urban Knights hitting over .300. Alaan, who is hitting .333 with five multi-hit games and a team-high 10 runs scored, still leads all of NCAA Division II in times hit by a pitch (12) and is just four from setting a new ART U single-season record. Larsen also has a .333 batting average to her name and six runs batted in.

Junior infielder Brenna Youngquist carries the team-lead in RBIs (10) while sophomore outfielder Gabi Hirsch remains among the conference's top three base steals with 11 thefts thus far and is tied with Alaan for the most runs scored on the team (10).

Defensively, ART U ranks second in the PacWest in total strikeouts (85) and fourth in earned run average (2.50) with Larsen (5-1) a big reason why. She is second in the conference in complete games (6), third in strikeouts (51), and fourth in innings pitched (48.1). Among pitchers in the PacWest with three starts or more, both she and freshman Cecilia Lopez (3-1) have ERAs in the top seven at 1.59 and 1.53 respectively.

HAWK TALK
After starting the season with eight consecutive losses, Holy Names came away 8-6 winners over Notre Dame de Namur in its most recent game coming into this weekend's matchup. HNU used at least one hit from each of its first six hitters to win that one and among those was the Hawks' top hitter Tailor Goods. She comes in batting .364 with a double and triple on the year. Defensively, no Holy Names pitcher has an ERA lower than Haighley Kissee's 8.75 mark. Offering a record of 0-4 through four appearances, Kissee shares the lead in innings pitched (20.0) with Chailey Stewart (1-2). Historically, Academy of Art is 17-8 all-time against HNU.

THE ARGOS ARGUMENT
Like Holy Names, Notre Dame de Namur began the year with eight straight losses before defeating Simpson and splitting doubleheaders with Holy Names as well as Dominican. The Argonauts were then swept by Dixie State in three games, giving them a 3-15 overall record, but more PacWest wins than six other teams. NDNU is led by Aurora Adams whose four homers, 19 RBIs are both top six in the conference while Delaney Pamplin (1-9) has handled 51.1 innings in the circle and supports a 3.68 ERA. In what has been a very close historical matchup, Notre Dame de Namur leads Academy of Art 18-17 all-time.

SETTING THE PACE
Located in New York, Pace competes in the Northeast-10 Conference and has yet to play a game in 2018. Just two seasons removed from winning the NE10 title, the Setters head into 2018 looking to make their fifth consecutive appearance at the league's championship weekend. Pace will return a bulk of their rotation from a year ago as Emma Bernet and Jaclyn Flores combined for 178.0 innings in 2017. Bernet, who was selected to the NE10 All-Rookie Team, was the Setters' leader in ERA with a mark of 2.70 in 72.2 frames. Offensively, Pace's top returners includes Ashley Lew who led the Setters in runs scored (25) and on-base percentage (.415) while finishing tied for the league lead with six triples. The Setters, who will be playing Academy of Art for the first time to date, were picked to finish fourth in the Southwest Division of the NE10.