SAN DIEGO – Fresno Pacific snapped #25 Point Loma's school record 17-game winning streak and earned its first win at Carroll B. Land Stadium since 2009 as the Sunbirds swept a doubleheader Friday in PacWest action. Baron Bower homered and drove in three in the opener to give FPU a 7-2 win, while Drew Merlo tossed a complete game shutout in the nightcap for a 3-0 victory.
 
The Sunbirds improve to 26-14 overall and 14-12 in conference play with their sixth consecutive win, while the Sea Lions fall to 30-9 overall and 16-6 in the PacWest.

"Point Loma is always a tough team to face, especially on the road, so sweeping the doubleheader to start the series is huge," said head coach Oscar Hirschkorn. "This gives us a chance to win the weekend, which is our goal every time we start a conference set. Our offense took really good swings all day and when we had our opportunities, we were able to capitalize on them. Baron was seeing the ball well all day and was the catalyst."
 
FPU tallied 11 hits and received a quality start from Wilson Ashford on the mound in the opener to earn the 7-2 win. The Sunbirds closed the game with five unanswered runs and held the Sea Lions scoreless in the final six frames.
 
With the game tied 2-2 after three innings, John Koretoff put FPU ahead for good with a double to left field to score Nick Pate in the fourth.
 
Bower was the driving force of the offense and tallied two hits, two runs and three RBI. He opened the scoring with an RBI triple in the third and followed with a two-run homer to right center in the seventh. Steven Lozier was 2-for-5 with an RBI, Michael Tittle finished 2-for-4, Pate was 2-for-3 with an RBI, McKay France was 1-for-3 with two runs and Preston Scott tallied an RBI.
 
Ashford earned his seventh win of the season after firing six innings while allowing two earned runs. The lefty scattered nine hits and struck out three. Tanner Irwin earned his fourth save of the season in relief of Ashford with three shutout innings and five strikeouts.

"Wilson wasn't his sharpest, but as good pitchers do, he was tough and made pitches in big spots," said Hirschkorn. "Tanner Irwin was phenomenal out of the pen to close out game one. And in game two, I can't say enough about how good Drew Merlo was. He was fun to watch."
 
Merlo (3-1) was the story of the nightcap after firing a complete game shutout in the 3-0 win. The lefty allowed four hits, one walk and struck out seven in 109 pitches. He induced 13 groundouts compared to six flyouts. The CG marked his fourth of the season, which ranks second in the PacWest.
 
The offense backed Merlo with a run in the third and two in the seventh. Bower delivered an RBI double to open the scoring, while Travis Beck and France tallied an RBI apiece in the seventh on a single and a sacrifice fly, respectively.
 
Bower and Koretoff led the Sunbirds with two hits apiece.
 
FPU and Point Loma wrap up the four-game set tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at noon.