Game #20 & 21
ART U Urban Knights (6-13, 2-6 PacWest) vs. APU Cougars (6-10, 1-3 PacWest)
Friday, Mar. 11, 2022 at 1 & 4 p.m.
Alameda, Calif. – Pat Bail Field at College of Alameda
Live Stats and Video

Games #22 & 23
ART U Urban Knights (6-13, 2-6 PacWest) vs. APU Cougars (6-10, 1-3 PacWest)
Saturday, Mar. 12, 2022 at 1 & 4 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College
Live Stats and Video

BATTER UP
While Academy of Art baseball was able to once again win the series opener the last time out on the diamond after taking game one against Biola with yet another dazzling pitching effort from ART U right-handed senior Collin Carriger, the Knights were not able to keep the bats going and will now look to rebound as this long homestand finally draws to a close with a four-game set against Azusa Pacific beginning on Friday. 

FIRST PITCH
Once more this four-game series will be split into a pair of twinbills, as the Cougars and Knights will square up on back-to-back days with first pitches set for 1 and 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 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 
In his very next start following the best outing of his career, Carriger would once again go the distance as he guided the Knights to their third walk-off victory of the season and third one-run win of the season with a 3-2 win over the Eagles, doing so in a complete-game effort in which he punched out 10 batters (the third consecutive outing of 10 or more strikeouts). One game is all that ART U would be able to get against BU however, as Biola scored double-digit runs in each of the final three games in the set to snatch the series win. Despite the losses, Academy of Art scored four runs in games two and three, marking the ninth time this season they have plated four or more. 

Through 19 games the Urban Knights are averaging 3.58 runs per game with a overall .217 batting average, scoring a high of nine runs during a victory over Cal State East Bay on Feb. 5. ART U has recorded double-digit hits twice this season, happening in back-to-back games beginning with 13 hits in the series finale with Sonoma State in a winning effort, followed by 12 more the next time out in defeat at the hands of HNU in the series opener.

Sitting with the best batting average in the early season is senior first baseman Vincent Lontz, as he is the only Urban Knight above the fabled .300 mark by resting at .305 after going a combined 18-for-59 (second-most hits on ART U) with six runs scored, four doubles and seven RBI. Following is Turney, who had extended his hitting streak to 14 consecutive games before it came to an end (the longest such streak by a Knight this season), but is still posting an overall average of .297 (19-for-64; most hits on ART U) with 13 runs scored, four doubles, three triples and nine RBI. The trio of three-baggers has already tied Turney for fifth-most in a season in school history, matching the mark archived last season by redshirt senior shortstop Dominic Ruggiero. Meanwhile, junior outfielder Charles Morgan has provided much of the pop at the plate for ART U, slugging five home runs through his first 19 games which is already tied for third in a single season in ART U history. He surpassed the four homers from last season by current senior outfielder Ty Conrad and alum Noah Daubin and is sitting at .246 on the season (16-for-65) with team-highs in runs scored (16), home runs (five) and total bases (35) while also adding eight RBI and a four doubles. 

Carriger has been the most consistent pitcher on the staff for the Urban Knights, logging a 2-3 record with a 3.27 ERA and 1.04 WHIP (lowest among pitchers with at least 2.0 innings pitched). His 48 strikeouts in 41.1 innings pitched are also top marks on ART U, and he has totaled an impressive 8:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio by allowing just 18 free passes this season. Directly behind him is senior righty Cannon Secrist, who has earned the most wins for ART U on the hill with a 3-2 record and a 5.88 ERA to go with a 1.43 WHIP in 33.2 innings pitched across his six starts. The only save on the team belongs to right-handed sophomore Dallen Turner, which he notched on Feb. 5 as he preserved the win against Cal State East Bay with a pair of strikeouts. 

KNIGHTS' QUEST
Academy of Art has had an up-and-down season in the early going, dropping the season opener to Stanislaus State despite putting up a three-run inning in the middle third of the contest before also losing the first two series of the year against Cal State East Bay and Sonoma State, though they were able to win game three in each of those two sets. Though ART U was blanked in the series opener against Cal State East Bay, the tides turned in a doubleheader as the Knights more than quadrupled their season run total with their 13-run output on the final day of the series, highlighted by a seven-run inning that ultimately led to the first win of the year for Academy of Art. Clashing with Sonoma State in a three-game series for the first time since 2017, the Urban Knights' offense was kept in check during game one and limited to just four runs in game two, but would salvage the final game of the series with a pair of three run innings that ultimately led to a 7-1 win.

Large innings would be the undoing of the Urban Knights in games one and two of their non-conference series against Holy Names, allowing three or more runs in an inning three separate times leading to a combined 14 runs allowed. The tides would turn on the final day of the series in a doubleheader as ART U earned its first walk-off win and first win in a one-run game from an RBI single by junior outfielder Hayato Niki in game three. It was an all-around performance in the series finale, as senior pitcher Cannon Secrist recorded his second consecutive quality start after striking out 10 batters in 7.0 innings pitched while junior outfielder Charles Morgan became just the fifth Urban Knight in history to have a multi-homer game (last: Noah Daubin; 5/21/21), propelling ART U to a 7-3 win. Setting the table from the top of the lineup throughout the series was Morgan, as he was a combined 6-for-15 (.400) with six runs scored, five RBI, two walks, a double, and three home runs while also leading the PacWest in total bases for the week (16). His production would earn him recognition from the conference, as he was tabbed as the PacWest Player of the Week on Feb. 21, the first player to earn the award since junior infielder Adam Inouye earned the honor last season on Mar. 8, 2021. 

ART U opened a four-game series by upsetting No. 23 Concordia in exciting fashion, rewarding Academy of Art senior right-hander Collin Carriger with his first win after he tossed a complete game, striking out an ART U record 16 batters in the process. Punctuating the win was junior designated hitter Liam Rizzo, who put a ball deep enough into the outfield to score graduate student outfielder Travis Turney after Turney had led the inning off with a triple. While the Knights would receive another solid pitching effort from Secrist in game two, punching out 10 batters for the second consecutive game, a pair of three-run innings in the late stages would capture game two. Meanwhile, the final day of the series would be all Concordia, sweeping the day with a total of 30 runs. For his effort in game one, Carriger would be named both the PacWest Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 28) and the NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 1). 

SWING, KITTY KITTY
Much like Academy of Art, after appearing in the PacWest AQ Qualifying Series at the conclusion of last year's regular pod season, the Cougars of Azusa Pacific find themselves at the bottom of the PacWest standings sitting just 6-10 on the year, and have lost three consecutive games albeit at the hands of No. 5 Point Loma. Each of those games were decided by two runs or less, and came on the heels of a series opening win against the Sea Lions by the exact same score as the Knights beat them, which was 3-2. While APU can hit for power with a total of 23 homers on the campaign, they rank in the bottom half of the PacWest in all other major hitting categories, and have the worst ERA in the conference with 116 earned runs allowed. Only two Cougars are hitting above .250 in Brett Soria (.391) and Tido Robles (.323), with Robles logging team bests in hits (20), home runs (five), and RBI (15). Meanwhile, Steven Silvas has the lowest ERA of the APU starters with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP, though he is 0-2 on the year with 29 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched. The last 11 meetings between the two teams have gone the way of the Cougars dating back to Apr. 1, 2017, as APU leads the all-time series with ART U by a 28-2 margin. 

EAGLES FLY OVER KNIGHTS IN DOUBLEHEADER TO TAKE SERIES
Despite Academy of Art baseball scoring early in both games of a Pacific West Conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday, it was Biola that would score more often as BU swept a doubleheader with finals of 11-4 and 13-1 (seven innings) to capture a series win over ART U. 

ON DECK
It is finally time for the Urban Knights to return to the road, as ART U prepares to play its first road PacWest series of 2022 against the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific in a series consisting of four games beginning with a doubleheader on Mar. 18.