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MASON, Ohio – Michael Tittle hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 12th as Fresno Pacific defeated Oklahoma Christian 4-3 Friday to move into the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) World Series title game at Prasco Park. The Sunbirds rode Wilson Ashford's arm on the hill for 9.1 innings and received home runs from Steven Lozier and Michael Hostetler in the win.
 
FPU moves to 38-18-1 overall with the victory, while OCU concludes its season at 35-22. The Sunbirds will have an opportunity to defend their World Series title at 10 a.m. Saturday against #2-seed Lee, who defeated #4-seed Palm Beach Atlantic 6-1 in the other semifinal game.

"That was a great baseball game to be a part of," said head coach Oscar Hirschkorn. "Oklahoma Christian is a great team and is very well coached, the game really could've gone either way. I'm very proud of our team to fight back to earn the win. That is what our team is all about, they are fighters with a lot of passion and hunger to win."
 
Ashford delivered a gutsy performance on the hill in what looks to be his final appearance as a Sunbird. The senior struck out seven in 9.1 innings of work and allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits. Tanner Irwin (4-2) earned the win with 2.2 hitless innings.

"Wilson threw a great game and overcame some unfortunate breaks. He kept us in the game and delivered exactly what we expected out of him," said Hirschkorn. "Tanner followed with a clutch performance out of the bullpen and gave our offense a chance to win the game."
 
FPU's offense pounded out 11 hits on the afternoon, led by two apiece from Baron Bower, Lozier and Tittle. Lozier finished 2-for-6 with a solo home run, Tittle was 2-for-5 with an RBI and Hostetler collected two RBI and a home run in the win. Bower extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his single in the fifth inning.
 
The Sunbirds scored first on Lozier's solo homer to right in the fourth, his sixth of the season. Hostetler followed two batters later with a two-run blast to left, his first homer of the year, to make the score 3-0. FPU held the lead until the seventh inning when OCU tied the game with three runs off Ashford.
 
OCU had an opportunity to take the lead in the 10th inning after a leadoff double. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third with one out, which proved to be Ashford's final pitch. Irwin entered the game for FPU and induced two straight outs to keep the score tied 3-3. Tittle highlighted the inning with a great play at shortstop for the second out by nailing the would-be go-ahead run at the plate after the ball deflected off Irwin on the mound.

"That was a season-saving play," said Hirschkorn. "Michael made a great play on the ball and came up with a perfect throw to Travis, who did a great job of staying in the play and applying the tag at the plate." 
 
After each team exchanged scoreless frames, Bower singled with one out in the 12th and promptly stole second. A miscue defensively allowed Bower to advance to third on the play, which set up Tittle's heroics. The senior laced a 2-1 pitch to right field to plate the winning run.
 
The Sunbirds will look to junior Josh Medeles (2-1, 2.01 ERA) in tomorrow's title game. The lefty earned the win in the national championship game of the World Series last year against Lee, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

"We are very confident in our pitching for tomorrow, Josh has performed in key situations throughout his career and we feel we have the pitching to finish off our goal," said Hirschkorn. "The guys who are returning are hungry for one final dogpile, and the new faces we have want that feeling. I know there won't be a hungrier team than us tomorrow."