HILO, Hawaii – The Fresno Pacific baseball team wrapped up the Hawaii road swing on Saturday, falling 5-4 in the opener of a doubleheader before bouncing back to take the nightcap by a final of 8-2.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Game 1: Hawai'i Hilo 5, Fresno Pacific 4
Game 2: Fresno Pacific 8, Hawai'i Hilo 2
Records: FPU (6-11, 3-5 PacWest), UHH (7-10, 5-5 PacWest)
Location: Wong Stadium | Hilo, Hawaii
Series: FPU leads 17-11
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Brian Hefner tripled in a run to start the scoring in the first inning of the opener, giving the Sunbirds their first lead of the series.  
• The Vulcans pulled even in the home half when Dylan Sugimoto's RBI groundout plated John Bicos from third.
• FPU got hits from Christian Collins and Dylan Lewis in the fourth before Ross Dodds' sac fly put the Blue and Orange up 4-1.
• With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Vulcan centerfielder Kyle Yamada tripled to right field to tie the game, but a bad hop allowed him to score the winning run. 
• Jared Aguilar, Collins, Ross Dodds and Angel Flores each drove in a run in the first inning of the nightcap, giving FPU life it hadn't yet seen in the series.
• Tristen Alvarez added to the lead in the second, and Brian Hefner opened the following inning with his first career dinger to push it to 6-0.
• Sugimoto and Yamada each plated a run in the home fourth to provide all of UHH' scoring for the game.
• Aguilar's fielder's choice gave the 'Birds their seventh run of the game in the sixth inning, and Dodds put the finishing touches on the win with a solo shot in the final frame. 
 
STATS FROM THE DAY
• Right hander Justin Fuson nearly went the distance for FPU, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over 8.1 innings of work.          
• Carson Schellenberg was the first man out of the Sunbird bullpen on Saturday, surrendering the final two runs of the game in his first loss of the year.
• Six Sunbirds recorded a base hit in the opener, while Collins, Hefner Adam Aleman and Jared Aguilar combined for nine of FPU's 15 hits in the finale.
• Fresno Pacific gave the ball to Alex Garcia for the fourth and final game of the series, and he answered by going all seven innings and allowing just two runs to pick up his first win of the season.  
 
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Prior to the three-run outburst in the fourth inning of Saturday's opener, FPU had scored just three runs in its' previous 21 innings.
• FPU's win in the series finale snapped a four-game losing skid.
• Alvarez has reached base in ten straight games, including all eight of FPU's league contests. 
 
SOCIAL:
• Twitter - @fpusunbirds
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUathletics
 
UP NEXT:
• The Sunbirds return to action on Friday, March 22, when they host Holy Names for a four-game non-conference series in Fresno. The doubleheader is set for 2:00 p.m. from FPU Diamond.