Games #28, 29, & 30
ART U Urban Knights (3-24, 2-12 PacWest) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (4-32, 3-18 PacWest)
Monday, March 24, 2025 at Noon & 2 p.m. | Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Games #31 & 32
ART U Urban Knights (3-24) vs. Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (16-13)
Thursday, March 27, 2025 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Brisbane, Calif. – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Games #33, 34, 35, & 36
ART U Urban Knights (3-24, 2-12 PacWest) vs. Vanguard Lions (7-22, 3-12 PacWest)
Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Noon & 2 p.m. | Monday, March 31, 2025 at Noon & 2 p.m.
Costa Mesa, Calif. – VU Softball Field
Live Stats – (Game 1), (Game 2), (Game 3), (Game 4) | Live Video

Games #37, 38, & 39
ART U Urban Knights (3-24, 2-12 PacWest) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (15-12, 12-6 PacWest)
Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 4 & 6 p.m. | Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 3 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Cougar Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART TO PLAY 12 GAMES OVER NEXT NINE DAYS
First finishing its 11-game homestand with one more Pacific West Conference series hosting Chaminade and a non-conference doubleheader versus Northwest Nazarene, Academy of Art softball will travel to Southern California for meetings with Vanguard and Azusa Pacific.

FIRST PITCH
ART U's series with the Silverswords will span Monday-Tuesday, Mar. 24-25 with a noon doubleheader on the first day and a 2 p.m. single game to close at Mission Blue Field. It will be another noon twin bill on Thursday, Mar. 27 with the Nighthawks. In Costa Mesa for noon doubleheaders across Saturday, Mar. 29 and Monday, Mar. 31, the Urban Knights will face the Lions for the first time since 2009 and, following a day off from competition, Academy of Art takes on the Cougars in Azusa on Wednesday, Apr. 2 (4 p.m. doubleheader) and Thursday, Apr. 3 (3 p.m. single game). 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
Getting contributions from multiple sources, ART U has seen junior infielder Audrey Allen lead the way with a .291 batting average, eight doubles (seventh in PacWest), two home runs, 11 runs batted in, and 11 runs scored. Sophomore outfielder Ari Mallari has hit for extra bases six times thus far (five doubles, one home run) while hitting .264 and scoring a team-best 12 runs. Two other Knights have registered double-digit runs batted in including senior catcher/infielder Liberty Herrera (two homers and 11 runs batted in) as well as freshman infielder Riannah Maulupe who has homered twice, driven in 10, and is currently carrying a team-best 16-game reached base streak.

Defensively, junior pitcher Kamielle Powell (2-13) is one of just two PacWest pitchers with over 100.0 innings pitched as her 101.0 frames (second in PacWest) have come with 45 strikeouts (fifth in PacWest) and a 3.12 earned run average.

SURVEYING THE SILVERSWORDS
Though Chaminade earned a victory in the team's second game of the season, a 13-game losing streak took the Silverswords into conference play. Since that time, CUH has achieved singular victories over Hawaii Pacific, Azusa Pacific, and Concordia, but is yet to win a series and has lost 10 in a row coming into the matchup with ART U including two one-run losses in Chaminade's most recent series with Menlo (Mar. 21-22). Larchelle Tuifao's .375 batting average, eight doubles, four home runs, and 20 runs batted in have been a big part of the offense while the squad's defensive leader has been Ava Walker (2-8), who sports a 5.39 ERA through 72.2 innings pitched. After splitting their four-part series with the Silverswords in 2024, Academy of Art is in front 26-17 in the historical matchup.

KNOWING NORTHWEST NAZARENE
After winning five of their first six games of the season, the Nighthawks fell in three straight to Biola and Concordia. Weather affected some of Northwest Nazarene's next games before Simon Fraser took three of four, NNU claimed its own three of four from Central Washington, and then split with Saint Martin's. The Nighthawks, who face Cal State Monterey Bay three times (Mar. 25-26) before Thursday, have five hitting above .300 including Ava Clark (.398 with nine extra-base hits) and Charlotte Forniss (.378 with four homers and 29 runs batted in) while Miah Lusk (6-7, 74 strikeouts in 70.2 innings) leads in the pitching circle. Through 10 previous games in the historical matchup, Academy of Art is ahead 6-4 on NNU.

VIEWING VANGUARD
Though Vanguard's first win of the season was an 8-0 shutout of Western Washington, ranked No. 2 in the country at the time, and the Lions added subsequent victories over SF State, Chico State, and Simon Fraser (shutting out two of those three), VU has won just three times since the start of its inaugural PacWest campaign. Vanguard split a four-game series with Dominican, took one from Jessup, and have since dropped 12 straight with a pair against Hope International coming on Mar. 26 before hosting ART U. While Kamryn Walker has hit ,340 with 10 doubles (fourth in PacWest) and 13 driven in, pitching can be considered the Lions' strength particularly with Brianna Williams (3-10) working on a 2.14 ERA (sixth in PacWest) and 64 strikeouts (second in PacWest) through 88.1 innings pitched. The last time Academy of Art and VU met was in the Knights' 2009 debut season and Vanguard won both sides of the twin bill.

CATCHING THE COUGARS
The Cougars went 3-6 in the leadup to conference play but have turned a corner since, sweeping Menlo then taking series from UH Hilo and Dominican before splitting with Biola most recently. Azusa Pacific will face Cal State Dominguez Hills (Mar. 24) and Jessup (Mar. 28-29) prior to hosting ART U and, to this point in time, APU has relied on a quintet hitting over .300 led by Caitlin DeCanio (.345 batting average, five doubles, five home runs, 21 runs batted in) as well as Maddy Debs (5-3, 3.12 ERA, 25 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched). In 30 previous meetings, a 21-9 advantage stands with Azusa Pacific over the Knights.

PITCHING DUEL BREAKS SHARKS' WAY IN FINAL FRAME
The rubber game in the three-part Pacific West Conference series between Academy of Art softball and Hawaii Pacific saw the two sides combine for just four hits as both starting pitchers traded five scoreless frames to begin. Though ART U gained the upper hand with a run in the bottom of the sixth, HPU was able to counter with a decisive two-run single in the seventh toward a 2-1 victory at Mission Blue Field on Mar. 18.

ON THE HORIZON
After returning from Southern California, the Urban Knights will remain local for the remainder of the regular season, starting with a four-game series at Menlo on Apr. 11-12.