ROHNERT PARK, Calif.-The middle of the order banged out 10 hits as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (5-4 overall) thumped its way to a 9-5 series opening win over the Sonoma State Seawolves (3-2 overall) Friday afternoon at The Seawolf Diamond.

Miguel Ortiz, Tommy Rover and Andrew Valdez each delivered three hits while Ortiz's first homer as a Sunbird gave Fresno Pacific a lead it would never relinquish.

Both starting pitchers exchanged zeroes in the first inning, with Fresno Pacific's Justin Fuson working around a pair of walks by striking out the side.

Fuson was handed an early lead as Miguel Ortiz roped the first pitch of the second inning off of the scoreboard in left center field for the game's first hit and first run.

Fuson was in trouble again in the second due to a pair of walks but used a strikeout and a double play to end the inning.

The Seawolves threatened again in the third with runners on the corners, but Fuson escaped once more by striking out the side.

Andrew Valdez sparked the Sunbirds in the top of the fourth with a triple down the right field line. After Ortiz was hit by a pitch, Tommy Rover singled home the second run of the game for Fresno Pacific.

FPU loaded the bases but couldn't get any more runs across in the inning.

After Fuson heavy workload in the first three innings, the Sunbirds went to the bullpen for Jaylen Rodriguez.

The right-hander kept Sonoma State off the board in the bottom of the inning, allowed Ortiz to drive in Koutarou Matsumaru, extending Fresno Pacific's lead to 3-0.

The Sunbirds opened the game up in the top of the 7^th after drawing a pair of walks. Ortiz struck again with an RBI single and Rover drove in another run with a drive up the middle.

Cole Yoshida delivered the big hit in the inning, doubling down the right field line to plate two and extend Fresno Pacific's lead to 7-0. Yoshida eventually scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 8-0.

Sonoma State's offense responded against the FPU bullpen with a four-run 7^th, cutting the advantage in half. The Seawolves scored once more in the eighth to make it just a three-run ballgame.

The Sunbirds got one more insurance run in the top of the ninth, capitalizing on an error that put Jordan Smith aboard before Matsumaru singled him in.

Brady Crow worked a scoreless ninth to seal the win for FPU.

The middle of the Sunbirds offense had its best performance of the young season with Andrew Valdez (3-5, 3B), Miguel Ortiz (3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) and Tommy Rover (3-5, 2 RBI) providing a bulk of the 13 hits.

The offense was timely as well, sparking three different rallies that helped Fresno Pacific maintain control of the game.

Fuson struck out 7 in just three innings of work, only allowing two hits, but 5 walks and a high pitch count forced the 'Birds into the bullpen. Rodriguez worked three scoreless innings before the Seawolves were able to tally a run.

Zach Dennis and Gino Helmuth helped maintain the lead before handing the ball to Crow in the ninth.

The series concludes with a double-header on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Due to Sonoma State's Senior Day basketball games going on simultaneously, there will be no live-stats or livestream available.

SUNBIRD SOCIAL

• Twitter - @fpusunbirds
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds
• Facebook - /FPUsunbirds