Games #36 & 37
ART U Urban Knights (9-26, 3-17 PacWest) vs. #3 PLNU Sea Lions (27-3, 9-3 PacWest)
Friday, Apr. 8, 2022 at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College
Live Stats & Video

Game #38 & 39
ART U Urban Knights 9-26, 3-17 PacWest) vs. #3 PLNU Sea Lions (27-3, 9-3 PacWest)
Saturday, Apr. 9, 2022 at 1 & 4 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College
Live Stats & Video

HOME SWEET HOME
Having returned home from a lengthy eight-game road trip to the Hawaiian Islands, Academy of Art baseball returns to the friendly confines of Laney College to begin a four-game series against one of the top teams not just in the Pacific West Conference but all of the nation in No. 3 Point Loma beginning on Friday. 

FIRST PITCH
This four-game set will be split into a pair of doubleheaders, with Friday's action set 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. while the first pitch times on Saturday are slated for 1 and 4 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 
Despite once scoring double-digit runs and four times scoring at least five runs while on their eight-game road trip to Hawaii, the Urban Knights came back just 1-9 after taking a single game during a four-game set with UH Hilo before being swept by Hawaii Pacific, with three of the games against HPU decided by three runs or less (two by a single run). ART U unloaded for nine runs during their lone win against the Vulcans in game two, providing senior right-handed starter Collin Carriger with all the run support he needed to finish off his team-leading fifth complete game. Homering on the trip was junior outfielder Charles Morgan as he launched his team-leading sixth blast of the year in the final game against HPU, tying the ART U record for home runs in a single campaign. It is a feat that has been accomplished just two other times in program history, first by Chris Vargas during the program's inaugural season in 2009 before Zak May did so again a decade later in 2019. 

After not reaching base in the opening game of the series with Hilo, graduate student outfielder Travis Turney's streak of reaching base would come to an end at 24 games, as he had reached in every contest beginning in the series finale of the first series of the year against Cal State East Bay. That is a new ART U single-season record, surpassing the previous record of 19 that was set by Lyle "Kalani" Brackenridge in 2013 and matched by teammate redshirt senior middle infielder Dominic Ruggiero in 2021. However, it is still shy of the ART U all-time reached base streak of 31 games set by Thomas Delgadillo across the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

Through 35 games the Urban Knights are averaging 3.94 runs per game, scoring a high of 11 runs during a series finale win over Fresno Pacific. ART U has recorded double-digit hits nine 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 seven times in the past 12 contests, reaching a season-high 14 hits in three of those instances.

Ruggiero is the owner of the best ART U batting average at .324 (35-for-108), as he and Turney (.303; 36-for-119) are the only Urban Knights above the fabled .300 mark but Turney boasts the team lead in hits and triples (both are tied with three). Turney also has team-highs in runs scored (24), RBI (19) and doubles (8), while trailing just behind that duo in average is senior first baseman Vincent Lontz at .281, scoring 11 times and driving in 12 runs so far in 2022. Meanwhile, Morgan leads the six Knights that have homered this year with his new total of six, surpassing the four homers from last season by current senior outfielder Ty Conrad and alum Noah Daubin en route to tying the ART U record. 

Carriger has been one of the most consistent pitchers on the staff for the Urban Knights, pitching deep into games and logging a 3-6 record along with one save, a 4.00 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, all of which are the best marks on ART U with at least 2.0 innings pitched. His 74.1 innings pitched are the most in the PacWest, and Carriger has totaled an impressive strikeout to walk ratio with 68 strikeouts to just 27 walks, with the punch outs ranking third-most in the conference. Ahead of him on that list is senior righty Cannon Secrist, carving up 75 batters via strikeout to tie for the PacWest lead with Noah Barros of Holy Names while issuing just 19 walks. Secrist sits just behind Carriger in ERA with a 4.92 along with a 1.29 WHIP and a 3-7 record. The first ART U save of the year went to sophomore right-hander 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 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.

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. 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 Carriger, also his first of the season. 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. 

SWINGIN' SEA LIONS
Recognized as one of the best teams in the nation, Point Loma has won each of their past five games and nine of their past 10 overall, most recently having swept a four-game set with Biola including winning each of the first two games of that series by a combined 16-0. Not only do the Sea Lions own the best batting average as a team in the PacWest (.294), the Sea Lions rest in the top half of the conference in nearly all offensive categories with the exception of triples. A well-rounded squad, PLNU is also the owner of the best ERA (2.12) and the best fielding percentage (.979) in the PacWest, and rank at the top of the pack in nearly all pitching categories including strikeouts (first, 305), shutouts (first, eight) and saves (first, 12). Truly a team built on depth, numerous Sea Lions are above or near the .300 mark, but there are only five above that level that qualify on the team for at-bats (two plate appearances per game and 75 percent of games played) led by the .358 line of Scott Anderson, who also happens to own the team-high in hits with 43. A team that features pop in the bats, seven different Sea Lions have recorded multiple homers this season led by the nine from Otto Kemp (also has team-best 11 doubles). Baxter Halligan is one of the front-line starters for the squad, totaling a 0.94 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in eight starts with a 7-1 record across a team-high 48.0 innings pitched, totaling 65 strikeouts while walking only 10. The rotation is strong for Point Loma, as three members of the starting rotation have at least five wins. Though ART U won the most recent battle on Mar. 2, 2019, PLNU leads the all-time series 21-6. 

KNIGHTS BATTLE BUT SHARKS STEAL SERIES VICTORY
It was quite the day of baseball between Academy of Art baseball and Hawaii Pacific on Mar. 31, as ART U and HPU seemingly went back-and-forth throughout the first game until the Sharks pulled out three runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 11-10 win. A pitchers' duel dominated game two but left HPU unfazed with a 3-2 victory in seven innings for the doubleheader sweep. 

ON DECK
There will be a quick detour from PacWest play for the Urban Knights, as they will return to the road to face Westmont in a four-game series beginning on Apr. 15.