FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific baseball team played perennial West Region powerhouse Chico State tight on Friday but fell in both ends of a doubleheader by finals of 2-1 and 3-2.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Game 1 – #21 Chico State 2, FPU 1 | Game 2 – #21 Chico State 3, FPU 2 (12 innings)
Records: FPU (0-2), #21 Chico State (2-0)
Location: FPU Diamond | Fresno, Calif.    
Series: Chico State leads 10-4
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Chico State took advantage of two Sunbird miscues in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead, and a Michael Warkentin single in the home half was the lone FPU hit until the fifth inning.
• Two walks in the bottom of the ninth allowed the Sunbirds to make it interesting, as pinch hitter Brian Hefner's single up the middle gave the Blue and Orange their first run of the season.
• FPU was forced to settle for one run in the opener, spoiling strong outings on the mound from starter Esteban Lizaola and reliever Carson Schellenberg.
• Nic Boatman took the ball for Game 2, and Ross Dodds helped the cause early with an RBI single to right to get the 'Bird on the board first.
• Tristen Alvarez singled to right in the home fifth to plate freshman Dylan Lewis from third, pushing FPU's lead to 2-0.
• The Wildcats opened the eighth inning with three straight base hits to load the bases, and Eddie Navarro followed with a sac fly to put Chico State on the scoreboard.
• Aaron Lizarraga then reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with two outs, bringing Wildcat cleanup man Alex DeVito to the plate.
• DeVito roped a 1-1 pitch off the base of the wall in left field to plate the tying run, but PU leftfielder Haden Haynes came up firing and cut down the go-ahead run for the final out of the frame.
• The two clubs exchanged zeroes until the 12th inning, when Chico State catcher Tyler Stofiel doubled to open the frame.
• A sac bunt moved him to third with just one out, and Navarro followed by lining a pitch out of the zone into right field for what would hold up as the game-winning hit.
 
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• Lizaola took the hard luck loss after allowing just two unearned runs and fanning five over six innings in the opener. Schellenberg surrendered just one hit over the final three frames out of the Sunbird bullpen.    
• Boatman went eight complete innings and picked up five strikeouts in the nightcap, issuing zero walks along the way. Fuson followed with 3.1 innings but took the loss in a strong college debut, while Josh Acosta and Tyler Rumbaugh combined to record the final two outs of the night.  
• FPU totaled 10 hits for the day, with senior Ross Dodds collecting the team's first multi-hit game of the year.
 
SOCIAL:
• Twitter - @fpusunbirds
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUathletics
 
UP NEXT:
• The Sunbirds and Wildcats are set to wrap up the series with a single game on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., but Friday night's rain probability could wash out Saturday's game. Stay tuned to FPUAthletics.com and Sunbird social media for further updates.