Games #4 & 5
ART U Urban Knights (0-3, 0-0 PWC) vs. NDNU Argonauts (0-5, 0-2 PWC)
Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Notre Dame High School
Live Stats
Games #6 & 7
ART U Urban Knights (0-3) vs. CSUMB Otters (5-6)
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video
LOCAL FOR NEXT 16 GAMES, ACADEMY OF ART FACES NDNU, HOSTS OTTERS
Following a three-week stretch of no contests, Academy of Art softball will return to action this Saturday in what will be the start of Pacific West Conference play at Notre Dame de Namur. That matchup gives way to a 14-game homestand which begins with Cal State Monterey Bay on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
FIRST PITCH
ART U opens conference play on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Notre Dame High School in Belmont against the Argonauts. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, the Urban Knights will play their first games at Mission Blue Field with Cal State Monterey Bay in town. First pitch of both doubleheaders is slated for 11 a.m. 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
Currently sitting third and fourth in the PacWest in batting average, junior infielder
Gracie Sotomayor and senior infielder
Brenna Youngquist are hitting .636 and .625 respectively. Following the Urban Knights' first and only weekend of competition in which she slugged .750 with four runs batted in over three games, Youngquist was named
PacWest Player of the Week and has her career watch begin immediately. The four-year senior became the second ART U player ever to record 100 career RBIs, sitting second with 101 to Taylor Thurman's 137. After breaking the program's single-season walks record last year, Youngquist (63) now needs 10 more to become the career leader.
NOTES ON NOTRE DAME
Through five games to start the 2019 season, Notre Dame de Namur has taken road losses to William Jessup, Stanislaus State, and Dominican. After finishing ninth in the PacWest last year, the Argonauts were picked to repeat in that position in the PacWest in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Thus far, NDNU has relied on Jules Keeney and her .417 batting average offensively, but the defense has struggled as Sofia Garcia (0-2) owns the team's lowest earned run average at 6.30. Very even over the course of 35 games previously, the historical matchup between Academy of Art and Notre Dame de Namur favors the Argos slightly 18-17.
OTTERS OUTLOOK
Picked to finish sixth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Preseason Coaches' Poll, Cal State Monterey Bay comes off a 25-29 record in 2018. The Otters defeated the Urban Knights 7-4 in their season-opener at the Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas on Feb. 1 and would go on to sustain extra-inning losses to Western Oregon and Minot State thereafter. CSUMB then opened CCAA play with a four-game sweep of Stanislaus State followed by a sweep at the hands of No. 23 UC San Diego. The Otters are set to face Cal State Dominguez Hills in a four-part series then Holy Names in two before traveling to Brisbane to meet Academy of Art. In seven previous meetings, CSUMB holds a 6-1 all-time record against ART U.
COYOTES TOP URBAN KNIGHTS IN DESERT STINGER FINALE
Able to play after a day of rain canceled the first games in the Desert Stinger Tournament ever on Feb. 2, Academy of Art softball weathered cold winds, but could not overcome an early advantage for Cal State San Bernardino out at Majestic Park on
Feb. 3. Though the Coyotes went up 6-0 after three innings, the Urban Knights fought back with a three-run fifth, but CSUSB went on to prevail 10-3 thereafter.
LOOKING AHEAD
Continuing the season's longest homestand after CSUMB, ART U will next host Azusa Pacific on Mar. 1-2 then Biola on Mar. 4-5.
