**Note that game times have changed for both days**

Games #44 & 45
ART U Urban Knights (20-23, 14-12 PWC) vs. Cal Baptist Lancers (36-6, 19-4 PWC)
Friday, April 20, 2012 at 2:00 & 4:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats
Twitter Updates

Games #46 & 47
ART U Urban Knights (20-23, 14-12 PWC) vs. Cal Baptist Lancers (36-6, 19-4 PWC)
Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 1:00 & 3:00 PM
Brisbane, CA – Mission Blue Field
Live Stats
Twitter Updates

ACADEMY OF ART GETS ITS FIRST LOOK AT CAL BAPTIST
Coming off a convincing four-game series sweep of Dominican this past weekend, the Urban Knights are now set to face Cal Baptist, holders of the Pacific West Conference's best record, on Friday and Saturday. As Academy of Art is currently battling with Hawaii-Hilo for fifth place in the PacWest standings, this final homestand which pits ART U against CBU and Notre Dame de Namur (next week) becomes ever crucial for the team's final placement.

FIRST PITCH
The Urban Knights and Lancers are set to tangle first on Friday, Apr. 20 with a new doubleheader start time of 2:00 PM. Day two is Saturday, Apr. 21 and that pair of games has also been moved to a 1:00 PM first pitch out at Mission Blue Field in Brisbane, CA. Various forms of live coverage will be available including Live Stats and Twitter Updates (see above). Remember to check @UrbanKnightNews on Twitter for score updates and recaps. Also become a fan of the Knights on Facebook by 'Like'-ing the Urban Knights page.

KNIGHT WATCH
After lifting its team batting average up nearly 20 points in the previous series, ART U now owns the fourth-highest mark (.314) in the PacWest and remains the conference leader in stolen bases (65). Senior infielder Genna Allen broke out for her first career PacWest Player of the Week honor following an impressive series versus Dominican in which she hit .714 (10-for-14), crushed three home runs including a grand slam in her first at-bat, and drove in nine for Academy of Art. Sophomore outfielder Elyse Cordova continues to rank among the PacWest's batting average leaders and captured her fourth 2012 PacWest Weekly honor after raising it to .444 for the year. She also swiped a pair of bases to give her 16 for the season (2nd in PacWest). Outfielder Ashley Lokey, who joined Allen and Cordova on the PacWest Weekly Top 10, has made her senior season one to remember with numerous high rankings on the team and in the conference. Lokey has not only set the program's new single-season triples record with five thus far (4th in PacWest), but she also has 37 runs scored (3rd in PacWest), a .399 batting average (5th in PacWest), a .657 slugging percentage (7th in PacWest), a .485 on-base percentage (3rd in PacWest), and 22 walks (3rd in PacWest).

All four pitchers ART U used against Dominican earned victories this past weekend with a one-hit shutout by freshman Haily MacDonald (6-6) stealing the show. The right-hander went a complete 5.0 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while dropping her ERA down to 4.29 (15th in PacWest). In addition, junior Kimberly Dauer (11-9) continued her impressive streak which now has seen her allow just six earned runs in her last 47.2 innings pitched, effectively reducing her ERA to a season-low 2.76 (9th in PacWest). She also ranks 5th in the conference in innings pitched (132.0), 7th in wins (11), 7th in strikeouts (72), and 5th in complete games (15).

CHARGING THE LANCERS
For a team that has gone 36-6 thus far in 2012, Cal Baptist has gotten the job done with strong pitching and a powerful offense. The Lancers hold a sizable lead atop both categories when compared to the rest of the PacWest with a collective 1.81 ERA and 52 home runs as a team. Perhaps not so surprisingly, CBU started off the season by winning 10 consecutive games which included five in the Desert Stinger Tournament. Cal State San Marcos was the first to defeat the Lancers with a 6-0 shutout on Feb. 18, but Cal Baptist would then pull off a resounding two-game sweep of #1 UC San Diego in which they held the Tritons scoreless. Though they continued their dominance in PacWest play, the Lancers did sustain losses to HPU, Dixie State, NDNU, and Hawaii Hilo in that time. Coming into the series with ART U, CBU has won 13 of its last 14 games including four consecutive most recently. Cal Baptist carries the PacWest's current home run leader in Kendall Gorham who sports 11 homers to go with 38 RBIs and a .313 batting average. In addition, Tina Galinato offers the team's highest batting average at .408 with the second-most doubles in the conference (16). The Lancers have a two-headed monster in the circle in Tory Ferreira (19-2) and Emma Holden (17-4). Ferreira, the PacWest's shutouts leader with eight, has a 1.67 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 134.1 innings pitched while Holden tops the conference's strikeouts category (208) through 140.2 innings of work and a 1.94 ERA.

ACADEMY OF ART DOMINATES DOMINICAN IN WEEKEND SERIES
With eight runs being the smallest victory margin, ART U unleashed an offensive barrage while playing tough defense against Dominican through four games this past weekend (Apr. 14-15). Three of the four contests were shortened due to the mercy rule including both on the first day of action which the Urban Knights won 13-1 in five innings and 10-2 in six. Academy of Art plated a whopping eight runs in the first inning of the opener (four on Allen's grand slam) and never looked back with Dauer allowing just four hits. Then, freshman Kamyle Glover picked up her first victory in an ART U uniform having been supported predominately by a three-run second and four-run fourth en route to the 10-2 final.

On day two which carried the 'Swing for a Cause' event, the Knights were in command once again, using a one-hit shutout from MacDonald to hold the line on their home field. It was another complete effort on the offensive end as six ART U players combined for 11 hits with eight runs and the 8-0 end result. The Penguins were outplayed in the series finale as well where freshman Kristin Valdivia posted a strong start and the trio of Allen, Thurman, and junior Alyssa Hickey added eight RBIs between them to give their squad a 9-1 win.

LOOKING AHEAD
When Cal Baptist departs, Academy of Art will have just one final gameday left on the schedule. Saturday, Apr. 28 pits the Urban Knights against local rival Notre Dame de Namur in what will serve as both teams' Senior Day. The day's doubleheader takes place at Mission Blue Field.