GAME #28 & 29
ART U Urban Knights (3-24, 3-13 PWC) vs. UHH Vulcans (6-14, 3-9 PWC)
Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2011 at 11:00 AM
Oakland, CA - Laney College
Live Stats
GAME #30
ART U Urban Knights (3-24, 3-13 PWC) vs. UHH Vulcans (6-14, 3-9 PWC)
Thursday, Mar. 31, 2011 at 7:30 AM
Oakland, CA - Laney College
Live Stats
GAMES #31 & 32
ART U Urban Knights (3-24, 3-13 PWC) vs. UHH Vulcans (6-14, 3-9 PWC)
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 11:00 AM
Oakland, CA - Laney College
Live Stats
Game Notes
KNIGHTS MATCH UP AGAINST HILO THIS WEEK
With now over half the 2011 season complete, Academy of Art University baseball welcomes Hawaii-Hilo to the Bay Area for a five-part series this week to kick off a stretch of nine Urban Knight home games in the next 12 contests.
FIRST PITCH
Wednesday, Mar. 30 features the first two games of this ART U-UHH series in a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 AM. On day two, Thursday, Mar. 31, the teams play a single nine-inning contest at 7:30 PM. The series will then conclude on Friday, Apr. 1 with another doubleheader at 11:00 AM. All games are scheduled to be held at Laney College in Oakland, CA. Live Stats and live score updates on the Academy of Art University Athletics Twitter will be available for all games in this series.
KNIGHT WATCH
Highlighting ART U's previous week of action, freshman righty Nick Giotta (1-3) earned a PacWest Weekly Top 10 selection for his impressive Mar. 21 outing. Giotta went 7.2 innings without allowing an earned run and six strikeouts to help the Knights defeat HPU 2-1. Giotta is now second in strikeouts (12) behind junior lefty Zach Mexicano (2-5) who continues to lead the team not only in strikeouts (26), but also in innings pitched (43.1). Following another hot week at the plate, junior infielder Zach Babitt has raised his batting average to .318 with a team-best 22 runs scored. Senior outfielder Ryan Worley and freshman catcher James Singzon also had strong performances at NNU, combining for seven runs batted in there.
SCOUTING THE VULCANS
Hot to start the season, Hawaii-Hilo has encountered a recent stretch of 12 consecutive losses. The Vulcans began 2011 with series victories over Patten and Grand Canyon in Hawaii, but then started a difficult roadtrip with defeats at the hands of Dixie State and Grand Canyon. Recently, UHH fell 6-1 at GCU on Mar. 27. Hawaii-Hilo is led by the PacWest's Preseason Player of the Year, outfielder Keoni Manago who offers a .457 batting average, 10 RBIs, and eight doubles. The Vulcans also feature a versatile athlete in Kekoa Lee. The senior has 15 runs scored and 10 RBIs primarily as a designated hitter in addition to his team-best 2-2 record, 5.01 ERA and 23 strikeouts as a starting pitcher.
ART U SPENDS ICY WEEKEND IN IDAHO
The Urban Knights are currently in the middle of a significant amount of baseball in a short time. After playing a five-game series against HPU last week, Academy of Art traveled out-of-state to face Northwest Nazarene for four games.
On the first day in Idaho, Mar. 25, the NNU Crusaders got the better of ART U with 11-4 and 8-3 finals. The teams fought through rain delays and sleet to play those initial games, but despite the low temperatures, Babitt stayed on fire. He was 3-for-7 that evening with his first home run of the year, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Game one saw an early lead for Northwest Nazarene and then a late-game comeback attempt by the Knights. The second contest was also close early, but two three-run rallies by NNU created the separation.
Day two featured a display of both teams' impressive offenses in the 23-9 Crusader game one victory. Worley had four RBIs in that contest to tie his career-high. ART U did not give up after Northwest Nazarene established a lead early in game two as the Knights scored twice in the final inning. NNU would take the series conclusion, however, by a score of 14-2.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Knights are up against Patten University next. Academy of Art faces the Lions in a non-conference matchup beginning with a doubleheader on Apr. 8. The series will take place in Alameda, CA at the College of Alameda.
