FRESNO, Calif. – After dropping Friday's series opener, the Fresno Pacific baseball team bounced back on Saturday, launching six home runs and totaling 34 runs in a doubleheader sweep. The Sunbirds improve to 3-3 on the season with their first series win of the year.
 
QUOTABLE:
"We got embarrassed at home last night, but this was how we wanted to respond. We knew we needed consistent at-bats and we have to get control our emotions. Our guys came back and played the way they are capable of playing against a very good team. We have to clean some things up, but we believe in the guys on this team, and this was an important series win for us." – head coach Oscar Hirschkorn    
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Game 1: Fresno Pacific 19, Sonoma State 9 | Game 2: Fresno Pacific 15, Sonoma State 7
Records: FPU (3-3), SSU (4-2)
Location: FPU Diamond | Fresno, Calif.   
All-Time Series: Tied 6-4
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GAME 1:  
• The offense clicked early and often for the Sunbirds, who scored three runs in five consecutive innings.
• Hunter Villanueva started the scoring with a three-run shot to left center in the third inning, while Matt McGrady, Nate Case and Derek Arkelian each drove in a run in the following frame.
• Senior catcher Braden Frankfort opened the fifth inning with a moonshot to right, sparking a six-run outburst for the Sunbirds.
• Ross Dodds left the yard in the sixth before Case followed suit with FPU's second three-run shot of the game.
• Sonoma State finally broke through with a run in the top of the seventh, but another ball jumped off a Sunbird bat with a Haden Haynes blast that put FPU in front 19-1.
• The Seawolves refused to go quietly, launching three longballs of their own over the final two innings.
• FPU starter Alex Garcia was in cruise control for his entire outing, allowing just three hits while fanning 11 over six innings of work.
• Righthander Carson Schellenberg notched his first career save after tossing the final three chapters on the mound.
 
GAME 2:
• The potent offense carried over for the Blue and Orange in the rubber match, as leadoff man Derek Arkelian began the home half of the first with a triple.
• Villanueva put an exclamation mark on the end of an 11-run first inning with a three-run tank to straightaway center.
• Sonoma State began to chip away in the second inning with RBI from Patrick Tolbert and Alex Emerick, but the Sunbirds again answered with a run in the third.
• Case and Dodds each plated a run over the next two innings to put FPU in front 15-3.
• The Seawolves scratched across four runs in the top of the seventh, but the Sunbirds' big lead held up to give them their second victory of the day.
• Starter Nic Boatman picked up his first win of the season after scattering six hits over five innings while striking out six.
• Jonathan Molina overcame a hit to record a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, while Kobie Anton tossed the final inning of the series.
 
ON DECK:
• The Sunbirds return to action on Feb. 22, when they head to the Bay Area to take on Academy of Art in the PacWest Conference opener. First pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.