FRESNO, Calif.  – The Fresno Pacific University baseball team salvaged a doubleheader split against Concordia on Friday evening, claiming the nightcap 5-4 after dropping the opener 10-8.

"We are a better team than the way we are playing, so today was a frustrating day. We're good enough to do a lot of really good things this season, so today was a huge gut check for us," head coach Oscar Hirschkorn said. "We have talked about how important it is to start winning series at our field, but we can only take it one game at a time."

The Sunbirds got on the scoreboard first after Eddie Sievers' RBI single in the first inning, but the Eagles struck for three runs in the third. Concordia scratched across a run in each of the next two frames before taking a 10-1 lead in the eighth inning.

Fresno Pacific's offense finally came alive in the bottom half, as the Blue and Orange scored three runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth to cut the deficit to two. The Sunbird rally came to an end with a groundout to second, however, and the tying run was stranded at first base.  

Leadoff man Michael Warkentin picked up four hits in the loss, while Baron Bower's first home run of the season drove in a team-high three runs. The Eagles recorded 14 hits en route to their sixth straight PacWest Conference victory, highlighted by Jair Donovan's three-hit ballgame.

Trent Ashford pitched into the seventh inning in Friday's loss, picking up six strikeouts along the way. Southpaw Nic Garcia was the first man out of the FPU bullpen for the day, tossing the final 2.1 innings of the series opener.

Concordia starter Neil Lang turned in a strong outing on the hill, allowing four earned runs and fanning five Sunbirds over the first eight innings. Carpenter Pagget overcame a hit and a walk to pick up his fifth save of the season and preserve Lang's third victory.

The Eagles opened the scoring in the nightcap before taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Hunter Villanueva came through with an RBI double in the home half to get the home team in the run column, and Concordia went in order in the top of the fifth inning.

Bower's two-out triple to right plated a pair of runs to cut the Sunbird deficit to one, paving the way for Villanueva to tie the game with his second double of the contest. Villanueva reached base again in the seventh inning to represent the winning run, but a soft ground ball to second ended the threat and sent the game into extras.

Closer Matt Bergandi hurled a flawless top of the eighth inning, and the Sunbirds again were granted the opportunity for their first walk-off hit of the season. Joey Gallegos opened the home half with a double to left center, and Travis Anderson came on to pinch run.

Bryan Bucher bunted Anderson over to third, and FPU turned to pinch hitter Braden Frankfort, who was intentionally walked to set up the double play. Shortstop Tristen Alvarez' attempt at a squeeze bunt failed, but he came through with a base hit to right four pitches later to give the home team their first victory of the series.

FPU starter Jonathan Molina struggled to find his command, allowing four runs through 3.2 innings of work before giving way to the bullpen. Tyler Rumbaugh failed to record an out, but Tanner Irwin's 2.2 scoreless frames ensured that Rumbaugh wouldn't allow a run. Bergandi picked up his first win of the year on the mound after retiring all five batters he faced.

Concordia's Alex Zalasky pitched five innings with three strikeouts, three walks and four runs. Reliever Morgan Brannock took the loss for the Eagles, with his lone run coming in the form of Anderson's game-winner.

The Sunbirds and Eagles are set to wrap up the series on Saturday with another twin bill at FPU Diamond. First pitch is slated for 11:00 a.m., with both contests scheduled for nine innings.