FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University baseball will take on Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday before heading to the Aloha State for the first of four against Hawai'i Hilo. 
 
ON DECK
Game 25
@ Cal State Monterey Bay
Tuesday, April 4 • 2 p.m. PST
Otter Sports Complex • Seaside, Calif.
Stats • Audio
 
Games 26/27 – PacWest Doubleheader
@ Hawai'i Hilo
Saturday, April 8 • 7 p.m. PST (9 innings) / 10 p.m. PST (9 innings)
UHH Baseball Field • Hilo, Hawaii
Stats • Audio
 
Games 28/29 – PacWest Doubleheader
@ Hawai'i Hilo
Monday, April 9 • 7 p.m. PST (9 innings) / 10 p.m. PST (7 innings)
UHH Baseball Field • Hilo, Hawaii
Stats • Audio
 
SCHEDULE  
After this weekend, 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 following 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 (11-13, 8-8 PacWest)
Fresno Pacific claimed three wins in a four-game PacWest Conference series against #21 Dixie State last weekend, and the Blue and Orange have now won five of their last seven. Freshman Michael Warkentin continues to thrive at the top of the Sunbird batting order, hitting a team-high .397 to this point in the season. Fellow outfielders Eddie Sievers and Baron Bower have become fixtures in the top third of the order as well, combining for three home runs, four triples, 18 steals, 33 RBI and 35 runs scored.
 
On the mound, closer Matt Bergandi leads the team in ERA after tossing 3.2 scoreless frames against Dixie State while also picking up his sixth save. Trent Ashford leads the staff with 41.2 innings of work, while Josue Mendivil's 23 strikeouts this spring rank only behind the 24 whiffs from Ashford.
 
ABOUT THE OTTERS (19-11, 12-7 CCAA)
CSUMB took the first two of a three game series against Cal Poly Pomona last weekend before dropping Saturday's finale by a score of 11-8. Myles Hager and Hayden Duer have each left the yard five times this spring, with Jacob Tonascia on their heels with four dingers. Outfielder AC Nunez leads the team with a .362 batting average as one of four Otters hitting above .300 to date.
 
Despite a team earned run average of 4.12, six Otter pitchers have delivered a sub-3.00 ERA to this point in the season. Ryan Arambula's 24 strikeouts are currently tops on the club, while Kyle Narahara has allowed just one earned run in 11 relief outings. CSUMB has held opposing hitters to a .257 average en route to a 185-106 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO PACIFIC VS CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
The Sunbirds and Otters have pushed Tuesday's game back a few times already due to rain, and this game marks FPU's final non-conference game of the year. Entering Tuesday, CSUMB claims an 8-6 advantage in the all-time series, though FPU took the March 7 meeting this year by a final of 7-2 in Fresno.
 
ABOUT THE VULCANS (5-15, 5-13 PacWest)
UHH split a PacWest Conference series with Holy Names last weekend, winning the first two before dropping both games of Saturday's doubleheader. Infielder Phillip Steering has hit .406 to land among the league leaders, and he also leads the team in extra-base hits (8), RBI (10), total bases (38), and on-base percentage (.466).
 
The Vulcans have struggled to a team ERA of 6.24, with opponents hitting .307 to score more than double UHH's offensive output. Relievers Deric Valoroso and Kamalu Kamoku have been strong out of the Vulvan bullpen, however, teaming up for 20.3 innings of work, just five earned runs, and 17 strikeouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY: FRESNO PACIFIC VS HAWAI'I HILO
The Sunbirds claim a 12-4 record in the all-time series, including a 3-1 record on the road since joining the PacWest Conference. FPU has won three of four in the season series every season since the initial meeting in 2013.    
 
PACWEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS
The Sunbirds currently sit in sixth place in the PacWest standings, and Hawai'i Hilo ranks eighth. CSUMB is in second in the CCAA's North Division behind only Chico State. 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.