SONOMA, Calif. – The bats came alive for the Fresno Pacific baseball team on Saturday, hitting three home runs in game one of the doubleheader in an 11-9 win, followed by a 7-1 win in the second game to sweep Sonoma State.

QUOTABLE

"I'm pleased with the way we handled our first test on the road. That's a great program lead by a great coach, so I think that says a lot about the way we competed. I thought we made progress in some areas that we've been focused on improving." – head coach Oscar Hirschkorn
 
GAME 1
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The contest started with the Sunbirds scoring three runs in the top of the first inning thanks to Matt McGrady bringing in two runs with a double, followed by a single from Donte Valdez that plated McGrady.
• Sonoma State answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own, but Khalid Johnson got both runs back on Khalid Johnson's first home run of the season that also scored Cole Yoshida.
• FPU added two more in the fifth inning thanks to back-to-back bombs from Andrue Lackey and Valdez, their firsts of the season.
• Sonoma scored four runs in the sixth inning to make it 8-6, but a three-run seventh for the Sunbirds extended their lead to 11-6.
• A sacrifice fly from Valdez plated Andrew Valdez for the first run of the inning. A Jared Aguilar single to left field scored McGrady, and then a Kyle Willman sacrifice fly brought in Lackey.
• Sonoma rallied again in the seventh and eighth innings with three runs to make it 11-9, but Gino Helmuth was able to halt the comeback there and secure the Sunbirds win.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• D. Valdez brought in three of FPU's runs in a 2-for-4 outing with a home run.
• Lackey scored two runs on two hits with a home run and brought in two runs.
• Johnson matched Lackey with two RBI's and two runs with two hits, including a home run and a double.
• McGrady and Willman each added a double in the win.
• Brady Crow earned the win on the mound with three strikeouts in three innings pitched.
• Helmuth got the save after one and one-third innings with a strikeout.
• Aguilar got the start on the mound, striking out seven in four innings of work.

 
GAME 2
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Sunbirds struck first when Tommy Rover was given home on a balk in the first inning.
• After scoreless frames in the second and third innings, Sonoma State was able to tie it in the fourth.
• The Sunbirds regained the lead in the sixth inning when they scored the first of their six runs when Lackey drew a bases-loaded walk, bringing in Rover for his second run of the game.
• Another bases-loaded walk to Aguilar scored A. Valdez, making it 3-1.
• Yoshida nearly cleared the bases with a single to center field, scoring Lackey and McGrady, extending the FPU lead to 5-1.
• Johnson stepped up to the plate and put the game out of reach when he brought in Yoshida and Aguilar with his third triple of the season.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• Yoshida went 2-for-3 in the win with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.
• Johnson hit a triple and drew a walk in a 1-for-3 outing.
• Jaylen Rodriguez earned the win on the mound after three and one-third innings of relief, striking out four batters.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Blue and Orange will jump on a plane and head to Hawaii for their conference opener against Hawaii Pacific on March 4-5. Games one and two will be played on Friday starting at 2 p.m., with games three and four coming on Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m.
 
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