GAMES #16-19
ART U (2-17, 1-9 PWC) vs. Dixie State University (12-6-1, 5-5-1 PWC)
St. George, UT -- Bruce Hurst Field

Friday, March 22 at 3:00 PM PT (Game 1) - LIVE VIDEO (Game 1 Only) | Live Audio | Live Stats
Saturday, March 23 at 10:00 AM PT (Game 1) Live Audio | Live Stats
*Note new start time for Saturday*

LEADING OFF
The Knights picked up their first conference win in the series against Holy Names this past weekend. WIth the expanded PacWest schedule, only the doubleheader on Friday counted towards both teams' conference records. The Knights and Hawks will play four more games later this year with the same format, with only one of the two doubleheaders counting towards the PacWest slate.

GERCKEN IN CONTROL
Redshirt sophomore Nate Gercken has been the bright spot among the Urban Knights rotation this year, continuing where he left off after his freshman campaign. The 6'6 right-hander sports a 2.33 ERA in a team-high 27.0 innings, and is only allowing opposing hitters to a .226 average. He's also among the best in keeping runners off base without the hit, walking only four batters all year, tying for the least in the conference among every pitcher with at least 20 innings pitched.

RIDERS ON THE RED STORM
Dixie State is having success on the year so far, led by their performance at the plate so far. On their recent trip to Hawaii, Hilo had one half of a doubleheader rained out and had the other revert to a tie, which could prove interesting down the stretch in the conference race. After winning the opening doubleheader, the Red Storm lost three in a row to HPU before winning the series finale. Jordan Hanley is currently smoking the ball at a .403 clip, while Dixie State also has four players hitting over .300 so far in 2013.

CLIMBING THE LADDER
The Urban Knights were struggling at the plate after their first three series of the year, but since facing California Baptist, the team has raised its batting average by 40 points in eight games. They have had at least five hits in each of those games, and have also had multiple stolen bases six of those eight contests. They also continue to drive runners in when they have a chance to, going 5-for-8 with runners on third and less than two outs to raise their season average in that situation to an even .500 (15-30).

ON DECK
After the quick trip to St. George, Academy of Art will have a pair of series at home, hosting two of the new teams to the PacWest in Fresno Pacific (March 29-30) and Point Loma Nazarene University (April 5-6).