Fresno Pacific will get a chance to defend its NCCAA World Series title after punching their ticket to Ohio with a 4-3 victory over Bethesda in the NCCAA West Region final on Saturday.

"Bethesda's a good team. They came out fired up and really competed," said head coach Oscar Hirschkorn. "I'm very proud of our team for stepping up and responding and defending our championship run. One lesson Bethesda gave us is that you have to play with emotion. It's championship season and you have to go all out. We're looking forward to going back to Ohio and excited that we've been through it together. We've got 17 guys returning from last year's group and that experience is invaluable."

Michael Hostetler went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI to lead the Sunbirds. Michael Tittle and McKay France finished with two hits apiece as well.

The Sunbirds (34-18) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a John Koretoff two-run single to left. Hostetler delivered an RBI single in the second inning to make it 3-0. Bethesda ace Esau Madrigal, a switch-pitcher, settled down from that point and would work into the seventh as the Flames were able to stay within striking distance.

Drew Merlo (5-1) earned the win for FPU, throwing five strong innings before running into trouble in the sixth and being relieved by Kyle Rasmussen. Tanner Irwin would throw the final 2 2/3 innings, striking out four for his team-high eighth save.

Christopher Jacobs went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Flames (28-26), who were making their first postseason appearance in program history.

The Sunbirds will now await their seeding for the NCCAA World Series, held May 20-23 in Mason, Ohio. FPU won all six games at the tournament last season, defeating Lee (Tenn.) in the title game.

Follow @fpusunbirds on Twitter for seeding and scheduling information for the World Series.