Games #31 & 32
ART U Urban Knights (6-24, 3-11 PacWest) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (16-14, 9-11 PacWest)
Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Warrior Softball Field
Live Stats

Game #33
ART U Urban Knights (6-24) vs. Western Washington Vikings (14-14)
Friday, March 31, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park (Field 1)
Live Stats

Game #34
ART U Urban Knights (6-24) vs. Western Oregon Wolves (15-16)
Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park (Field 3)
Live Stats

Game #35
ART U Urban Knights (6-24) vs. Central Washington Wildcats (13-14)
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park (Field 1)
Live Stats

Game #36
ART U Urban Knights (6-24) vs. Simon Fraser Red Leafs (6-24)
Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park (Field 2)
Live Stats

Game #37
ART U Urban Knights (6-24) vs. Cal State East Bay Pioneers (17-17)
Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 12:30 p.m.
Turlock, Calif. – Pedretti Park (Field 2)
Live Stats

FIVE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPS PAIRINGS FOLLOW MAKEUP WITH SILVERSWORDS
After managing to play eight of 12 games with the Pacific West Conference Hawaii schools visiting a rainy Bay Area, Academy of Art softball travels to Turlock to first makeup a doubleheader with Chaminade on Thursday then enter Stanislaus State's Tournament of Champions, presented by the City of Turlock with five matchups against NCAA Division II West Region opponents ahead. For complete Tournament of Champions information, click here!

FIRST PITCH
It will be a busy four days for the Urban Knights who begin by making up a rescheduled 11 a.m. doubleheader with Chaminade on Thursday, Mar. 30 at Stan State's Warrior Softball Field. The opening day of the Tournament of Champions, Friday, Mar. 31, features an 11:30 a.m. pairing with Western Washington on Pedretti Park's Field 1 followed by a 7 p.m. matchup with Western Oregon on Pedretti Park's Field 2. Day two, Saturday, Apr. 1, begins with an 11:30 a.m. game on Pedretti Park's Field 1 between ART U and Central Washington then action shifts to Pedretti Park's Field 2 for Academy of Art and Simon Fraser at 4:30 p.m. The fifth and final contest of the tournament will pit the Knights against Cal State East Bay at 12:30 p.m. from Pedretti Park's Field 2. 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
For an ART U team that ranks third in the PacWest with nine triples, junior infielder Haley Randall comes into this upcoming stretch of games hitting .322 (19th in PacWest) with 22 runs scored (fourth in PacWest), eight stolen bases (seventh in PacWest), and is one of three Urban Knights with multiple triples on the season. Junior utility Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki sports a team-high four-game hitting streak to power a .304 batting average as well as three triples (third in PacWest) and 13 runs batted in. With seven three-baggers in her career, she ranks third in program history behind the eight from her teammate senior outfielder Bethany Mitchell who has three to her name in 2023 as well as 12 RBIs and eight doubles (sixth in PacWest). At .305, junior infielder Katie Humphreys is the third Knight hitting above .300 while freshman infielder Audrey Allen paces the squad with 14 RBIs (13th in PacWest) while hitting .273.

A 3.37 earned run average has freshman pitcher Kamielle Powell (4-10) seventh in the PacWest among pitchers with 10 or more starts and she has 44 strikeouts (eighth in PacWest) in her 95.2 innings pitched (fifth in PacWest) while senior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (2-12) comes off her best start of the season in which she held UH Hilo to zero earned runs and just three hits in 7.0 innings, helping drop her ERA to 4.85 on the season.

CHAMINADE CHECK-IN
Playing six games in Northern California after taking two from ART U on Mar. 23, Chaminade went 3-3 against Holy Names and Dominican, averaging over six runs in its wins and three in its losses. The Silverswords continue to lead the PacWest with 16 triples and are third in batting average (.280) with the trio of Larchelle Tuifao (.389), Keaolani Takemura (.385), and Taryn Fujioka (.376) all amont the conference's top five in batting average with 10 triples between them. Jaeda Cabunoc (2-2) ranks 10th in the PacWest with a 2.75 ERA through 35.2 innings pitched. Despite winning in the teams' last four meetings CUH trails ART U 24-13 in the historical matchup.

WESTERN WASHINGTON WATCH
An up-and-down season for Western Washington has the Vikings coming into the Tournament of Champions at 14-14 following a series win over Simon Fraser, a series loss to Central Washington, and a series split with Western Oregon most recently. Leading WWU offensively has been Kinzey Williams (.344, 12 runs) and Hailey Rath (.341, 20 RBIs, 15 extra-base hits) while Mareena Ramirez (10-4) paces the team with a 2.01 ERA and 105 strikeouts through 97.2 innings pitched and nine complete games. Meeting in Turlock primarily over the years, Western Washington is 6-2 all-time versus Academy of Art.

THE WOLVES' WAY
After enduring losing streaks of six and four games into early March, Western Oregon has won six of its last eight with a series sweep of Simon Fraser and the aforementioned split with WWU taking place prior to the Tournament of Champions. The Wolves, who face Sonoma State in their opening contest on Friday, have relied on the trio of Natalie Willoughby (.342, 13 RBIs), Maddie Doig (.333, 13 RBIs), and Katelyn McGough (.326, 12 RBIs, 12 extra-base hits) in the batter's box and the duo of Maddie Mayer (8-7, 2.63 ERA) and Chelsea Smith (6-6, 2.76 ERA) in the pitcher's circle. WOU holds a 4-1 advantage historically against the Knights.

CENTERING IN ON CENTRAL WASHINGTON
A relatively back-and-forth 2023 campaign has never seen Central Washington win more than three or lose more than four games thus far as a 3-1 series versus Western Washington was most recently followed by a 1-3 result with MSU Billings and matchups with Hawaii Pacific then UH Hilo on tap for CWU to start the Tournament of Champions. Historically a dangerous team offensively, the Wildcats have just one hitter with a batting average above .300 currently, but Alyssa Bethagen's .366 average has seen quite a bit of production including 24 RBIs and four home runs while Ashlee Laver (4-7) comes in with a 2.54 ERA in nine complete games. Central Washington is 8-5 previously in games versus Academy of Art.

SIMON SAYS
Simon Fraser's losing streaks of 10 games and eight games were broken up by an 8-0 shutout of Western Washington on Mar. 11, contributing to the Red Leafs' 6-24 overall record. SFU, who takes on Cal State San Bernardino, Chico State, and Cal State Monterey Bay prior to meeting ART U, has seen its offense its calling card with four Red Leafs batting above .335, including Megan Duclos (.402, 30 steals, 27 runs) and Abby McGlynn (.369, 24 RBIs, 27 runs), while its defense has struggled with Shaneika Hollingworth's (2-6) 5.93 ERA the team's lowest. Going back and forth over the years, Simon Fraser is currently ahead 4-2 historically against the Knights.

ANOTHER EAST BAY BATTLE
Since its sweep of Academy of Art back on Feb. 14, Cal State East Bay has won two series, split two, and lost three including the most recent 1-3 result versus No. 22 Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Pioneers will challenge Chaminade, Holy Names, Saint Martin's, and Western Washington all prior to ending the Tournament of Champions against the Knights. Cynthia Carrillo (.343, 18 runs) and Adriana Martinez (.326, 16 RBIs) are among CSUEB's top hitters while Anamaria Beard (9-9) holds a 1.92 ERA with eight complete games through 105.2 innings pitched to serve as the squad's ace. Through 21 previous meetings with ART U, Cal State East Bay is up 14-7.

SOFTBALL CANNOT HOLD OFF APU LATE ON SERIES' FINAL DAY
In action back at Mission Blue Field on Mar. 27, Academy of Art softball had senior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (2-12) deliver her best performance of the season, not allowing an earned run in a season-high 7.0 innings pitched, while the Urban Knights' bats backed her with five runs on five hits to start the Pacific West Conference series versus UH Hilo 5-1 winners. The Vulcans would force a split, taking the day's second contest 5-3, but it was not without ART U nearly coming back after scoring twice in the final frame.

ON THE HORIZON
Academy of Art's first home games of April will take place on the other side of the Tournament of Champions as the Knights host Holy Names for a noon doubleheader on Apr. 8.