FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University baseball team will hit the road for four games this week, opening the conference schedule against defending PacWest Champion California Baptist.  
 
THIS WEEK
Game 9 (PacWest Series)
@ California Baptist
Thursday, March 2 • 6:00 p.m.
James W. Totman Stadium • Riverside, Calif.
Stats
 
Games 10/11 (PacWest Series)
@ California Baptist
Friday, March 3 • 4:00/7:00 p.m.
James W. Totman Stadium • Riverside, Calif.
Stats
 
Games 12 (PacWest Series)
@ California Baptist
Saturday, March 4 • 12:00 p.m.
James W. Totman Stadium • Riverside, Calif.
Stats
 
SCHEDULE  
The next four games will feature the Sunbirds making the trip south to square off with long-time rival Azusa Pacific (March 9-11).
 
The Sunbirds' home conference opener comes against Concordia on March 24, as the two teams will play two twinbills in as many days. FPU then hosts 15th-ranked Dixie State the following weekend before taking part in a week-long road trip to the Aloha State for duels with Hawai'i Hilo and Hawai'i Pacific.
 
Academy of Art heads to the Valley for the first of four league games on April 20, with back-to-back doubleheaders against Holy Names set for the next weekend. The final series of the year for the Blue and Orange will also feature Point Loma, and FPU's Senior Day is set for May 9.
 
The NCAA Division II West Regional will begin on May 18, with the championship game scheduled for Monday, May 22. The site will be determined at the conclusion of the regular season. Grand Prairie, Texas will host the NCAA Championship for the first time, with Regional winners squaring off from May 27 – June 3.
 
To view the entire schedule for Fresno Pacific baseball, please click here. For a printable version, click here.
 
ABOUT THE SUNBIRDS (2-5, 0-0 PacWest)
FPU dropped the opener of a doubleheader against Sonoma State by a final of 2-0 on Feb. 19 before rain ultimately washed out the nightcap. Right-hander Trent Ashford received the starting nod for the Sunbirds, surrendering a pair of runs over 5.1 innings before giving way to the FPU bullpen. Jonathan Molina and Carson Schellenberg combined for the final eight outs, each overcoming a base hit to record a scoreless outing. Offensively, Baron Bower picked up his second multi-hit game of the young season, slugging two of the team's three base hits for the afternoon. The Blue and Orange did make a brief rally attempt in the final chapter but failed to take advantage with two runners on and nobody out. Bower has been the Sunbirds' best offensive player to date, leading the team in hits (8), average (.320), RBI (8), total bases (11) and steals (5).
 
ABOUT THE LANCERS (9-5, 0-0 PacWest)
CBU is coming off a four-game series split with Colorado Mesa last weekend, winning the first two before the Mavericks claimed each of the final two games. Since being swept by Cal State LA in the first series of the year, the Lancers have rattled off a record of 9-2, one of the best marks in the West Region. Outfielder Tommy Bell has been on an absolute tear to start the spring, clubbing .490 with five home runs and six doubles while reaching safely in all 13 games he's played. The defending PacWest champions will once again have an impressive pitching staff, as Garett King has already established himself as the top starter on a pitching staff that currently features four sub-3.00 ERAs. King, a transfer from the University of Nebraska, has adjusted well in his first season on the West Coast, racking up 31 strikeouts in 27.0 innings while holding opponents to just a .202 average.  
 
SERIES HISTORY: FPU VS CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The Sunbirds are on the wrong end of an 18-27 all-time record against the Lancers, dating back to their days as opponents in the NAIA's Golden State Athletic Conference. CBU took all four games in Fresno last season, but FPU earned a split on the last visit to Riverside (2015).
 
HEAD COACH OSCAR HIRSCHKORN
Oscar Hirshckorn has been the head baseball coach at Fresno Pacific University since the program's inception in 2006. In 11 seasons at the helm, he's led the program to a 339-242-1 all-time record, seven regional postseason appearances, three World Series appearances (NAIA and NCCAA) and back-to-back World Series championships (2014-2015).
 
FPU baseball made its postseason debut in just its third season as a program (2008) with Hirschkorn being named conference coach of the year. Before joining the NCAA Division II, FPU qualified for four straight NAIA Championship Opening Round appearances from 2008-2011 and was ranked in the NAIA Top-25 for four consecutive years. In 2009, in just its fourth season, the Sunbirds reached the NAIA World Series, finishing fifth in the nation.
 
In 2014, Hirschkorn led the program to its first World Series title, being named NCCAA national coach of the year. He repeated both accolades in 2015. Prior to starting the FPU baseball program, Hirschkorn was an assistant coach at Reedley College and Caruthers High School and was a head coach at Sanger High School, where he inherited a team that had gone 4-23 the previous season. Three years later, he guided the squad to the school's first postseason appearance in 19 years.
 
Hirschkorn's playing career began at Kerman High School and took him to Reedley College, Cal Poly, and Chico State. Hirschkorn ranked among the top tier in the Northern California Athletic Conference in wins and was in the starting rotation on the school's first NCAA Division II National Championship team in 1997, a year in which the team compiled a 52-11 record. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1993 and again in 1994. 
 
Hirschkorn was named GSAC coach of the year and region coach of the year in 2008, and national coach of the year in 2014 and 2015. He holds his B.A. (1998) and M.A. (1999), both in Physical Education, from Chico State.
 
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SHOP FPU
The Fresno Pacific Department of Athletics is proud to announce the opening of a Team Store that can be accessed on ShopFPU.com. Fans and students can now purchase apparel for all 14 athletic teams, along with numerous other items, throughout the 2017 season.