Game #28 & 29
ART U Urban Knights (8-19, 2-10 PacWest) at UHH Vulcans (19-12, 8-10 PacWest)
Friday, Mar. 25, 2022 at 3:30 & 7 p.m. HST
Hilo, Hawaii – Wong Stadium
Live Stats | Live Video (Game1) & Live Video (Game 2)

Game #30 & 31
ART U Urban Knights (8-19, 2-10 PacWest) at UHH Vulcans (19-12, 8-10 PacWest)
Saturday, Mar. 26, 2022 at 3:30 & 7 p.m. HST
Hilo, Hawaii – Wong Stadium
Live Stats | Live Video (Game 1) & Live Video (Game 2)

Games #32 & 33
ART U Urban Knights (8-19, 2-10 PacWest) vs. HPU Sharks (13-16, 7-11 PacWest)
Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2022 at 2 & 5:30 p.m. HST
Waipahu, Hawaii – Hans L'Orange Park
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #34 & 35
ART U Urban Knights (8-19, 2-10 PacWest) vs. HPU Sharks (13-16, 7-11 PacWest)
Thursday, Mar. 31, 2022 at 2 & 5:30 p.m. HST
Waipahu, Hawaii – Hans L'Orange Park
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

AIN'T NO VACATION
Coming off what is perhaps their best series of the 2022 campaign thus far, Academy of Art baseball looks to carry their hot bats to the warm environment of the Hawaiian Islands, as ART U will battle against both UH Hilo and Hawaii Pacific in four-game sets over the next week. 

FIRST PITCH
Both series' will be split into a pair of doubleheaders, as the pair of twin bills against the Vulcans get underway at 3:30 and 7 p.m. HST (6:30 and 10 p.m. PST), while the two days of contests against the Sharks will have first pitch times of 2 and 5:30 p.m. HST (5 and 8:30 p.m. PST). 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 
The Academy of Art bats exploded for a total of 23 runs over four games (5.75 per game average) in a non-conference series against Fresno Pacific, scoring more in that series than their last 11 games combined. ART U scored in the first inning during three of four games, ultimately earning a series split for the second time this season. It took four extra frames to pull out the win in game one with a 8-7 victory in 13 innings, and after the Sunbirds took the middle games in doubleheader format, ART U closed the series strong with an 11-1 win, their biggest margin of victory this season. Thanks to a handful of scoreless innings in relief, ART U senior right-hander Ryan Skillman picked up his first win of the season, with the save going to someone who normally starts games in senior righty Collin Carriger, also his first of the season. The only other person with a save on the roster, sophomore right-hander Dallen Turner, would be the winning pitcher during the Knights' convincing victory in the series finale. One of the primary forces at the plate was redshirt senior middle infielder Dominic Ruggiero, as he was a combined 11-for-19 (.579) with three runs, three RBI, three doubles and two triples. Ruggiero would set a new ART U record in the opening contest of the series, as he became the first Urban Knight to record two triples in a game, ending the day 4-for-6 with a run scored, three RBI, and a double in addition to the pair of three-baggers. 

Through 27 games the Urban Knights are averaging 3.52 runs per game, scoring a high of 11 runs their last time out in the win over FPU. ART U has recorded double-digit hits five times this season, first doing so 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. Most recently, the Knights have done so three times in the past four games, reaching a season-high in hits with 14 in two of those instances.

Thanks to his strong week, Ruggiero is the owner of the best ART U batting average at .309 (29-for-94), as he is the only Urban Knight above the fabled .300 mark while leading the team in hits and triples (three; tied with graduate student outfielder Travis Turney). Leading the team in runs scored (19), RBI (15) and doubles (7) is Turney, who also holds the second-best batting average on the squad at .297. Trailing just behind that duo is senior first baseman Vincent Lontz at .289, scoring seven runs and driving in nine so far in 2022. Meanwhile, junior outfielder Charles Morgan has provided much of the pop at the plate for ART U, slugging five home runs through 27 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.

Carriger has been one of the most consistent pitchers on the staff for the Urban Knights, pitching deep into games and logging a 2-5 record along with one save, a 3.95 ERA and 1.07 WHIP (lowest among ART U pitchers with at least 2.0 innings pitched). His 57.0 innings pitched are the most in the PacWest, and Carriger has totaled an impressive strikeout to walk ratio with 59 strikeouts to just 24 walks, with the punch outs ranking second most in the conference. Ahead of him on that list is senior righty Cannon Secrist, carving up 64 batters via strikeout while issuing just 16 walks. Secrist sits just behind Carriger in ERA with a 4.62 along with a 1.27 WHIP and a 3-5 record, with the wins currently the most on ART U. The first ART U save of the year went to 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 CSUEB, 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 SSU 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.

The first series split of the year would come against Holy Names in non-conference action thanks to a doubleheader sweep on the final day of the set. Propelling ART U to victory was junior outfielder Charles Morgan, who 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). He is just the fifth Urban Knight in history to have a multi-homer game (last: Noah Daubin; 5/21/21), and his production would earn him recognition from the conference, as he was tabbed as the PacWest Player of the Week on Feb. 21.

Senior right-hander Collin Carriger notched his first win in the series-opening upset against No. 23 Concordia by tossing a complete game, striking out an ART U record 16 batters in the process. For his effort, Carriger would be named both the PacWest Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 28) and the NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 1). However, The Eagles would steal the series with three consecutive victories in games 2-4. Though Academy of Art would once again win the series opener the against Biola thanks to the third consecutive game of 10 or more strikeouts from Carriger, it was BU that would take the final three games and deny ART U its first series win of 2022. That would all be followed by a tough four-game series against Azusa Pacific where the Knights averaged just 1.0 run per game, though two of those runs scored on homers by graduate student catcher Ryan Gamboa and Turney.

HOLDING HILO HITLESS
Winners in just two of their past eight contests after initially capturing victory in nine of their first 10 games, the Vulcans look to put an end to their slide when they face off against the Knights. UH Hilo enters the matchup as one of the top offensive teams in the conference, ranking in the top half of the PacWest in batting average, runs, hits and doubles. Though pitching hasn't been the strong suit of UH Hilo, they have tossed the most innings in conference with a total of 259.0, striking out a total of 231 batters (third-most in PacWest). Four different Vulcans are above the .300 mark led by Casey Yamaguchi as the only one above .400 at .411, posting team-bests in hits (51), runs scored (33), and doubles (14), with all of those marks also leading all players in the PacWest. Aaron Davies has snagged a 4-1 record with a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances, five of which have been starts. His 31 punch outs lead the Vulcans, while Alden Norquist has yet to allow a run in the 7.2 innings pitched of his seven appearances for the lowest ERA on UH Hilo, also striking out nine while logging a 1-0 record. In the all-time series between UH Hilo and ART U, its the Vulcans in front by a 46-15 margin. 

SHARK ATTACK
Hawaii Pacific holds just a 2-8 record over the course of their past 10 contests, all of which has come in PacWest action against Point Loma, Concordia and Fresno Pacific. Despite the losses, the Sharks can swing the bat and generate runs, as they are third in the conference in batting average while scoring the most runs in the PacWest (173), also ranking in the top three for hits, doubles and triples. Though they have logged the second-most innings pitched as a staff, they are just middle of the pack in pitching, including ERA and walks. Five different Sharks are sitting above .300 led by D.J. Stephens at .369, trailed closely by the .330 from Tejean Smith, who holds the team lead in hits (34) and RBI (19). Starter Jack O'Brien is 3-1 across seven appearances, six starts, posting a 3.86 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP in 32.2 innings pitched, the most on the squad. Hawaii Pacific holds the edge of ART U in the all-time series, 46-15. 

ART U SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN TO SPLIT SERIES WITH FPU
Offense was aplenty and pitching was strong for Academy of Art baseball in the finale of a four-game non-conference set against Fresno Pacific on Saturday, tying a season-high 14 hits that produced a season-best 11 runs for an 11-1 win over FPU. 

ON DECK
After three consecutive series' on the road, ART U returns home to host a four-game set in PacWest action against Point Loma, with the series opener taking place on Apr. 8 at 11 a.m.