Games #50 & 51
ART U Urban Knights (37-12, 20-6 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (4-36, 4-24 PWC)
Sunday, April 29, 2018 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART TO CELEBRATE SENIORS AMID DOMINANT RUN
After a doubleheader sweep of UH Hilo helped Academy of Art University Softball match the athletic department's longest win streak with 11 straight victories, the Urban Knights posted their 21st victory in their last 22 games. Now second in the Pacific West Conference standings, ART U carries that momentum into a rematch with Holy Names this weekend which feature a Senior Day ceremony for Samantha Klune and Brenna Mitchell.

FIRST PITCH
Academy of Art will host Holy Names in its final home regular season doubleheader this Sunday, Apr. 29 at Mission Blue Field 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.

PROMO
The Urban Knights' final home games of the regular season will be prefaced by a special ceremony to honor seniors Samantha Klune and Brenna Mitchell. Fan buses depart 620 Sutter at 11:15 a.m. and the first 200 fans to Mission Blue Field will receive an exclusive park blanket.

ACADEMY OF ART MOVES UP IN SECOND REGIONAL RANKINGS RELEASE
Winning six games since the first release of the NCAA Division II West Regional rankings including two over UH Hilo (previously No. 8 overall), ART U advanced past the Vulcans on Wednesday's second release, taking over the No. 8 spot which serves as the cutoff for teams going to the postseason.

KNIGHT WATCH
As a team, Academy of Art comes into this weekend ranked eighth in NCAA Division II in shutouts (15), 11th in earned run average (1.78), and 14th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.33). Offensively in the PacWest, the Urban Knights now tied with No. 19 Dixie State for the most doubles (76, eight shy of the program's single-season record) with nine of those coming in the last four games. Additionally, they are tied with UH Hilo for the lead in total hits (381) and second in the conference in pitcher strikeouts (296).

Brooke Larsen became a seven-time PacWest Freshman of the Week after her success in ART U's series with Hawaii Pacific and now finds herself ninth in the conference in batting average (.370) as well as second in doubles (16, matching the program's single-season record). In addition to leading Academy of Art in virtually every pitching category (see below), she also has a five-game hitting streak and 19 runs batted in. After just becoming the program's single-season leader in sacrifice flies (5, 13th in NCAA Division II), senior utility Brenna Mitchell approaches her Senior Day the team's new leader in RBIs (31, tied for 15th in PacWest) after matching her career-high with four driven in the finale with UH Hilo. She ranks second on the team in batting average (.336) with 13 doubles (fifth in PacWest). After being hit three more times over the past week, freshman infielder Jayda Alaan remains the NCAA Division II leader in hit by pitch (26), is hitting .331 with 29 runs scored and a .479 on-base percentage (eighth in PacWest). Long since the program's single-season record holder, should Alaan be hit just two more times, she will, in a single season, break the program's career record of 27 currently held by Jasmine Dickenson.

Currently the team's hottest hitter, sophomore outfielder Gabi Hirsch sports an 11-game hit streak (one shy of the squad's season-best) which comes as part of an eye-popping stretch in which she has reached base in 20 consecutive games. She has increased her batting average to .315, owns a team-high 34 runs scored (ninth in PacWest), and ranks fourth in the conference with 28 stolen bases (now 10 shy of Haily MacDonald's 2015 single-season record). Two players, sophomore infielder Gracie Sotomayor and junior infielder Brenna Youngquist, are tied for second on the team with 27 RBIs apiece. Sotomayor is hitting .316 with nine doubles while Youngquist comes off a game in which she blasted her team-best fourth home run and is now hitting .290.

In the pitcher's circle, Larsen (20-3) just became ART U's third 20-game winner and now sits just two back of the program's single-season record. She is tied with Concordia's Callie Nunes for the most victories in the PacWest (16th in NCAA DII), tied with California Baptist's Ciara Stapp for the most shutouts in the conference (9, fifth in NCAA DII) and the most complete games, has sole possession of first in innings pitched (160.0), is second in the PacWest in earned run average (1.09, 12th in NCAA DII), and though she also ranks second in strikeouts (192, 10th in NCAA DII and nine from breaking the program's single-season record of 200 held by Sierrah Garcia), Larsen's 67 strikeouts looking are the most in the conference. Three saves tie her for fourth in the conference as well. After winning her previous two starts, freshman Cecilia Lopez (10-4) comes in at 12th in NCAA DII in fewest walks allowed per seven innings (0.79) with just 11 issued through 97.2 innings pitched (the fewest by any PacWest pitcher with 28.0 or more innings to their credit). She is 22nd in NCAA DII in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.00) and is one of 11 PacWest pitchers with 10 or more wins to go with a 2.08 ERA (also 11th in the PacWest).

NAMES GAMES
After Academy of Art swept Holy Names back on Mar. 6, the Hawks dropped 13 straight before sweeping Chaminade on May 30. HNU has won just one game in its 14 contests that followed and is set to host its own Senior Day versus Notre Dame de Namur on Apr. 28 prior to meeting the Knights. Offensively, the team is led by Haighley Kissee whose .301 batting average comes with nine doubles, two homers, and 14 RBIs. Kissee (2-15) also carries the team's lowest ERA (6.09) in 89.2 innings pitched. Two wins over Holy Names earlier this season upped the Knights' lead in the all-time series to 19-8.

ART U SOFTBALL SWEEPS VULCANS, RISES TO SECOND IN PACWEST
Continuing to roll, Academy of Art University Softball matched the entire athletics department's longest win streak by any program with its 11th straight victory after a sweep of UH Hilo out at Mission Blue Field on Apr. 24. The first contest saw ART U score four runs early to support another strong performance from freshman Brooke Larsen (20-3) en route to a 4-3 win. In game two, the Urban Knights scored a pair of runs in each of the first four innings to propel freshman Cecilia Lopez (10-4) and her impressive start to a five-inning 9-1 victory, completing the sweep. With the day's results, Academy of Art moved up to second in the Pacific West Conference standings.

LOOKING AHEAD
A highly-anticipated roadtrip awaits ART U next week. The Urban Knights will first travel to Riverside for their first time facing No. 11 California Baptist on May 3 then, Academy of Art will make its ESPN debut in a nationally-televised doubleheader at No. 19 Dixie State on May 5 in St. George, Utah.