Game #17 & #18
ART U Urban Knights (9-7, 9-7 PacWest) at Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (12-12, 8-8 PacWest)
Thursday, Apr. 15, 2021 at 2 & 5 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – FPU Diamond
Live Stats and Video

Game #19 & #20
ART U Urban Knights (9-7, 9-7 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (12-12, 8-8 PacWest)
Saturday, Apr. 17, 2021 at 1 & 4:30 p.m.
Alameda, Calif. – College of Alameda
Live Stats and Video

FINAL SHOWDOWN
The final matchup of the year between Academy of Art baseball and Fresno Pacific will have huge implications in the race for the Pacific West Conference Northern California pod title, with ART U holding the one-game lead in the standings over FPU as the two teams square off in a four-game set. 

FIRST PITCH
Fresno Pacific will host the first doubleheader from FPU Diamond on Thursday at 2 and 5 p.m., while ART U gets the final battles between the two teams at Pat Bail Field on Saturday with first pitch times of 1 and 4:30 p.m. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
ART U currently owns the top team batting average in the PacWest at .326, and are averaging 6.9 runs per game in 2021. Their OBP (.399) ranks second while their slugging percentage (.440) is third, while also posting the second-best mark in doubles (33) and leading the conference in triples (5). From the hill, the Knights have allowed the fourth-fewest runs (95) and earned runs (75) in the PacWest, while allowing the second-fewest hits (117) in the conference. ART U is looking to improve on its recent 1-5 record in its past six contests.

After totaling seven hits last series, redshirt junior shortstop Dominic Ruggiero has pushed his hitting streak to 13 straight games, and has reached base safely in every game this season. Both are bests on the Knights, and Ruggiero also leads in batting average (.406; fifth-best in the PacWest), hits (26; fourth-most in the PacWest), runs (18), and total bases (37). Checking in just behind him is junior outfielder Ty Conrad, batting .400 on the year (seventh-best in the PacWest) while leading the team in RBI (17; tied for seventh in the PacWest), OPS (1.054), and stolen bases (7-for-8). Sophomore third baseman Adam Inouye has reached base in his last 11 consecutive games while having collected a hit in his last six, and is one of five Knights to hit above .300 (among those who qualify; excluding Ruggiero and Conrad). Leading the team in doubles with six are Ruggiero and junior first baseman Vincent Lontz, putting the two in a tie for fourth in the PacWest. The two triples this year from graduate student infielder Justin Summers are tied for first in the PacWest. 

Four ART U pitchers have earned a pair of wins from the bump this season, with graduate student pitcher Jayson Summers posting the lowest ERA among that quartet with a 2.49 (sixth-best in the PacWest) with two complete games on his resume. The lowest WHIP on the team belongs to junior right-hander Collin Carriger, posting a 1.03 in 12.2 innings pitched, while fellow junior righty Ryan Skillman is just behind him with a 1.05 WHIP. Both Summers and graduate student righty Matthew Sanchez have tossed 25.1 innings this season, with both pitchers having faced over 90 batters this season. Summers paces the team in strikeouts with 28 (tied for ninth-most in the PacWest), having tallied at least six in each of his last three starts, while Sanchez and junior righty Noah Daubin have notched 18 apiece. 
 
SWINGING SUNBIRDS
Winners in five of their last six games, the Sunbirds own the second-best record in the NorCal pod, trailing the Knights by just a single-game. ART U opened up the season with a series win by taking three out of the first four, and the two team split their last series with each team sweeping a doubleheader on their own home field. Most recently, the Sunbirds took three of four against Holy Names, splitting a doubleheader on the final day of the series after both games went into extra innings (losing 3-1 in 13 innings before winning 5-4 in 11 innings). Two Sunbirds are hitting above .300, led by the .333 average of Chase Pinheiro and followed by the .322 of Garrett Cooper. Jared Aguilar does the majority of the damage, leading the team in RBI (24) and home runs (4), while Nick Dodd holds the team lead in hits (22). In eight appearances, Michael Barker has posted the lowest ERA on the team at 2.25, having allowed just five earned runs in 20.0 innings pitched. Cooper has the team lead in wins with thee, while Justin Fuson is 2-3 in a team-high 32.2 innings pitched. FPU still leads ART U in the all-time series, 32-11.

PROGRAM RECORD IN HITS LEADS TO DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT WITH HNU
Academy of Art baseball had an offensive explosion in game one of a Pacific West Conference doubleheader against Holy Names, tallying 17 runs on 23 hits as they would cruise to the easy victory by a final of 17-3. However, ART U could not sustain the offense, as they would drop game two to HNU by a final 4-0 to split the twin bill. 

ON DECK CIRCLE
The final conference series awaits the Urban Knights, as they close out PacWest NorCal pod action against Holy Names. Both teams have won four games out of their eight battles this season, while ART U leads the all-time series, 27-21. Day one's doubleheader will be hosted by HNU at 2 and 5 p.m., while the Knights will be the home team on Saturday beginning at 1 and 4:30 p.m.