FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University baseball team will welcome in Dixie State for a four-game league series set to begin on Thursday and wrap up on Saturday.  
 
THIS WEEK
Game 20
vs. Dixie State
Thursday, March 30 • 6 p.m. (9 innings)
FPU Diamond • Fresno, Calif.
Stats • Audio
 
Games 21/22
vs. Dixie State
Friday, March 31 • 2 p.m. (9 innings) / 5 p.m. (7 innings)
FPU Diamond • Fresno, Calif.
Stats • Audio
 
Game 23
vs. Dixie State
Saturday, April 1 • 11 a.m.
FPU Diamond • Fresno, Calif.
Stats • Audio
 
SCHEDULE  
After this weekend, FPU will take 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 (8-12, 5-7 PacWest)
Fresno Pacific split their series with Concordia last week, with both wins coming by way of a walk-off hit from shortstop Tristen Alvarez. The Sunbirds have split consecutive PacWest series after taking two from fifth-ranked Azusa Pacific on the road three weeks ago.
 
Freshman Michael Warkentin went 9-for-17 from the leadoff spot in the Concordia series, while Hunter Villanueva came away with four doubles and a home run for the weekend. Warkentin now leads the Sunbirds in hitting with a .403 average, and the team has averaged north of five runs per game through three conference series.
 
Starter Josue Mendivil turned in another strong outing on the mound for the Blue and Orange and has combined for 15 innings, 17 strikeouts, just three walks, 245 pitches, and 164 strikes over his last two starts. Closer Matt Bergandi has been one of FPU's most reliable arms out of the bullpen, as he was credited with both wins last weekend to go with his four saves on the season.
 
ABOUT THE TRAILBLAZERS (24-6, 13-3 PacWest)
Dixie State handed Point Loma their first conference loss of the season last Friday before ultimately taking the next three games of the series, as well. The four-game sweep was enough to lift the Trailblazers to 7th in the latest edition of the Collegiate Baseball weekly rankings and drop the Sea Lions out of the Top 25.
 
Senior outfielder Trey Kamachi has hit .438 to lead the team so far, while Logan Porter's 51 RBI position him atop the PacWest leaderboard. Additionally, DSU claims the league leader in doubles, as Drew McLaughlin's 14 two-baggers give the Trailblazers a trio of dangerous hitters to lead the most offensive team in the league.
 
Right hander Dylan File has dominated on the mound this spring, pitching his way to a 5-0 record with a 2.55 season ERA. File has been even more impressive in PacWest action, allowing just two earned runs and holding opponents below a .200 average with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost 5-to-1. Walker Williams and Brayden Bonner are the only other Trailblazers with a sub-3.00 ERA, combining for three earned runs over 17 innings of work.
 
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO PACIFIC VS DIXIE STATE
Dixie State claims a 12-4 record in the all-time series, including the last eight dating back to 2015. FPU has played much better at their home facility, as the Sunbirds are 3-5 in this series when at the Diamond and 1-7 at the Trailblazers' Legend Solar Field.   
 
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
The Trailblazers currently sit in second place in the PacWest standings, and FPU ranks seventh. The standings are based solely on win percentage in league games.
 
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.