FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific baseball team got two big pitching performances from Justin Fuson and Jared Aguilar, leading the team to a 10-3 win in game one on Saturday and a 5-0 win in game two to earn the series split after dropping both games on Friday.
 
GAME 1
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Justin Fuson sat down the Eagles in order to start the game, the Sunbirds offense got off to a patient and effective start in the bottom half when Khalid Johnson, Jared Aguilar and Andrew Valdez drew walks.
• Johnson scored on a wild pitch, which advanced Aguilar and A. Valdez to second and third, and that was followed by Matt McGrady also drawing a walk, loading the bases with no outs.
• Andrue Lackey was then hit by a pitch, which brought in Aguilar to make it 2-0, and then with one out, Cole Yoshida drove in McGrady and A. Valdez to make it 4-0, which the Sunbirds would take into the second inning.
• Fuson sat down Biola in order to start the second inning, and in the bottom half, FPU added one more run when a sacrifice fly from McGrady plated Johnson, making it 5-0.
• Another 1-2-3 inning from Fuson kept the Eagles off the board, and the Sunbirds offense kept giving him run support in the bottom half by adding three more runs.
• The third started with a fielding error that allowed Yoshida to reach first, followed by a throwing error that advanced him to second. A single from Kyle Willman advanced him to third, and Tommy Rover was able to bring him in with a single through the right side, making it 6-0.
• A wild pitch brought in Johnson to make it 7-0, and with Aguilar on third, he was brought in after a double from A. Valdez to make it 8-0.
• A fourth-straight perfect inning from Fuson shut down the Eagles in the fourth inning, but the Sunbirds were held to their first scoreless inning of the day in the bottom half.
• Fuson threw his fifth straight perfect inning in the fifth, and the Sunbirds added another on a sacrifice fly from Lackey that brought in Johnson to make it 9-0.
• Biola was able to get its first hit of the day off of Fuson to open the sixth inning, but he stifled the rally attempt immediately by sitting down the next three Eagles in order.
• FPU went down in order for the first time in the bottom of the sixth, and the Eagles were finally able to get to Fuson in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs.
• In the bottom half, the Sunbirds made it 10-3 thanks to a single from McGrady that allowed Mitchell Silvas to cross the plate.
• Brady Crow entered in relief of Fuson in the eighth inning, and while he allowed a few Biola base runners, he was able to escape the inning unscathed. He did the same thing in the top of the ninth, shutting the Eagles down and giving the Sunbirds the win.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• Fuson tossed seven innings, five of which were perfect, with five strikeouts and only one walk in a win on the mound.
• Johnson scored four runs in five plate appearances
• Lackey only had one official plate appearance after getting hit by a pitch three times. He drove in two runs.
• A. Valdez went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a run scored and an RBI.

 
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The second game of the day and fourth of the series was all Sunbirds from the start after Agullar got the start on the mound and shut the Eagles down in the first inning.
• The Sunbirds picked up right where they left off from the first game of the day, scoring a run in the bottom of the first after Johnson led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. With one out, he was able to score on another groundout.
• Aguilar kept the Eagles off the board for the next three innings, and the Sunbirds capitalized, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
• A leadoff double from McGrady followed by a double to left-center field from Lackey make it 2-0. With two outs, Willman was able to bring in Lackey with a single up the middle to make it 3-0.
• The Eagles were able to string together a couple of two-out hits in the top of the fifth, but Aguilar did what he had been doing all game and shut down the rally, keeping them off the board.
• The Sunbirds were able to give Aguilar two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth when Donte Valdez led the inning off with a single and advanced the second on a wild pitch. Garrett Cooper was able to bring him in with a single through the right side to make it 4-0.
• A sacrifice bunt and a groundout allowed Cooper to get to third with two outs, and he crossed the plate thanks to a wild pitch, making it 5-0.
• In the top of the seventh, Aguilar was able to sit the Eagles down in order with two strikeouts to get the win and give the Sunbirds the series split.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• Aguilar pitched a complete-game shutout with seven strikeouts and just one walk and three hits.
• D. Valdez went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.
• A. Valdez, Lackey, Cooper and Willman each drove in a run.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Blue and Orange will hit the road next weekend to take on Academy of Art. Game one will be on Thursday at 2 p.m., with games two and three coming on Friday starting at 1 p.m. The series will close out on Saturday with a single game scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
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