FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific baseball team picked up their fifth win of the week on Saturday afternoon, defeating Hawai'i Pacific 9-4 at FPU Diamond. The victory allows the Sunbirds to claim the series three games to one, their first series win since defeating Academy of Art in the final weekend of February.
 
QUOTABLE:
"This was a tough series in a lot of ways for us, and our guys got control of their emotions and started to collect themselves. Several guys who have had to sit and wait their turn this season stepped up and played well when we needed it in this series. HPU is a good team with some quality wins, and I'm impressed with the way they never quit. It's a fight in this league, but a series like this gives us life for the second half of the season. When we play tough like we did this week, I like our chances against anybody." – head coach Oscar Hirschkorn
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Fresno Pacific 9, Hawai'i Pacific 4
Records: FPU (14-12, 11-9 PacWest), HPU (13-15, 7-13)
Location: FPU Diamond | Fresno, Calif.   
All-Time Series: Tied 12-12
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HOW IT HAPPENED:  
• The Sharks wasted no time offensively, striking for three runs in the first inning behind hits from Ryan Torres-Torioka, Christian Kapeliela and Matt Tsutomi.
• Braden Frankfort opened the home fourth with a triple just inside the left field line, and Hunter Villanueva followed with a double to get the Sunbirds on the board. Two batters later, Villanueva came in to score on a throwing error, cutting the HPU lead to just one.
• After Bryan Honley walked and Adam Aleman was hit by a pitch in the fifth, Tristen Alvarez bunted them to second and third. The Sharks then went to the bullpen, handing the ball to lefthander Josh Muneno.
• With the HPU infield pulled in, Frankfort bounced a ball up the middle to plate both runners and give the Sunbirds their first lead of the afternoon.
• Aleman and Frankfort each gave the home team an RBI hit in the following inning, pushing FPU in front 6-3.  
• Honley and Frankfort walked in the eighth, and Villanueva launched a towering shot to left center, adding three insurance runs to Sunbird lead.
• Boatman overcame an error in the ninth to toss his first complete game of the season, picking up four strikeouts along the way.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• The Sunbirds got complete games from three starting pitchers in this series and went 3-0 in those games.
• Frankfort went 8-for-16 at the plate for the weekend, driving in seven runs while taking over the team lead in batting average.
• Fresno Pacific has won two league series and split two more this year, with their only PacWest series loss coming against #2 Azusa Pacific.
 
ON DECK:
• The Sunbirds hit the road for the first time in over month next week, taking on Dixie State in a four-game league series. First pitch from St. George, Utah is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PST on Thursday evening.