Games #38 & 39
ART U Urban Knights (7-30, 3-13 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (8-20, 5-9 PacWest)
Saturday, April 8, 2023 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats & Live Video

PENULTIMATE HOME DOUBLEHEADER SEES ART U HOSTING HNU
Coming off a busy stretch in which Academy of Art softball played 15 games over 11 days, the Urban Knights are back into the thick of Pacific West Conference play this weekend when they host Holy Names in the teams' first meeting this season.

FIRST PITCH
With just one gameday on tap this week following the Tournament of Champions, ART U welcomes Holy Names to Mission Blue Field for a noon doubleheader this Saturday, Apr. 8. 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
With six of its 10 triples coming in conference play, Academy of Art remains third in the PacWest in that stat category as well as fifth in stolen bases (24). Batting .383 (18-for-47) with 11 runs batted in and six runs scored since Mar. 23, junior utility Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki has taken over the team lead in batting average at .304 (25th in PacWest) while adding three triples (fourth in PacWest) to give her seven in her career (tied for third in ART U history). Junior infielder Haley Randall is just a shade under .300 with a .299 batting average while leading the team with nine multi-hit games along with 25 runs scored (fifth in PacWest), eight stolen bases (ninth in PacWest), and two triples (ninth in PacWest). The team leader in triples, however, is senior outfielder Bethany Mitchell who has four thus far in 2023 (third in PacWest) to currently tie her with Haily MacDonald for the career record set in 2015. Mitchell has also been responsible for a team-high 17 runs batted in (18th in PacWest) and nine doubles (fifth in PacWest). Freshman infielder Audrey Allen comes into the weekend third on the team hitting .283 with 14 driven in (over half coming in conference play).

With the most innings pitched on the team (114.2) ranking fourth in the PacWest, freshman pitcher Kamielle Powell (5-12) sports a 3.72 earned run average (16th in PacWest) with 55 strikeouts (eighth in PacWest) while senior pitcher Haley Arnold-Jolley (2-16) has allowed two or fewer earned runs in two of her last three starts toward 89.0 innings pitched on the year.

HAWK TALK
Amid a first month and a half of the season that has seen weather postpone numerous games, Holy Names went 1-12 before winning three in a row versus UH Hilo and Chaminade. The Hawks defeated both Cal State East Bay and Western Oregon in a 2-3 trip through the Tournament of Champions then most recently split a pair with Concordia (ranked No. 9 at the time). Isabella Scozzola paces the Hawks with a .355 batting average (seventh in PacWest) and 19 runs scored (10th in PacWest) while Iris Bejarno adds 17 runs batted in (18th in PacWest) and Kelsey Volkmar (3-5) checks in at 13th in the conference in ERA (3.29). Despite winning four of the teams' last six meetings, Holy Names is still back of ART U 36-17 historically.

KNIGHTS' 11-10 VICTORY HIGHLIGHTS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
In action five times over three days during the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, Academy of Art came back from losses to Western Washington, Western Oregon, and Central Washington with a rollercoaster ride to victory over Simon Fraser on Apr. 1. Three-run homers by junior infielder Haley Randall and senior outfielder Bethany Mitchell helped ART U build a 10-1 lead, but SFU came back to tie with a big fifth inning, setting up the eventual difference-making single by senior catcher/utility Cassandra Mittman in the sixth for the 11-10 triumph.

ON THE HORIZON
A stretch of eight road games in Southern California follows this weekend action as the Urban Knights start with four at Concordia (Apr. 14-15) before another quartet at Biola (Apr. 17-18).