AZUSA, Calif.- Jared Aguilar's hot bat continued to spark but the script got flipped in game two as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (11-13 overall, 5-4 PacWest) split a pair of 3-2 PacWest contests against the conference leading Azusa Pacific Cougars (17-11 overall, 10-4 PacWest) Friday afternoon at the Cougar Baseball Complex.
 
The Sunbirds found offense almost immediately when Aguilar belted a homer to left center after one out in the first.
 
Miguel Ortiz doubled the lead in the second with a solo homer of his own, blasting a ball down the left field line.
 
Azusa took a longer route to its first run, stringing together a trio of singles in the third to scratch across a run.
 
But Cooper escaped the threat by inducing a groundball double play to third to maintain the lead.
 
Aguilar crushed another ball to left field to start the third, winding up with a double off of the fence, before coming in to score on a fly out and a wild pitch.
 
Cooper held the lead for the Sunbirds through six innings of work, striking out six and working around six hits and a walk, before turning things to the bullpen.
 
Azusa Pacific put a baserunner on in the 7^th before Cooper exited, and the runer came around to score, but Gino Helmuth stopped the rally, leaving two stranded.
 
Helmuth was in a bit of a jam in the 8^th as well as APU put two runners on with one out before a fly out to left and a strikeout left another pair of Cougars stranded.
 
Helmuth also recorded the final three outs in the 9^th to complete his second 3-inning save in as many outings to secure the 3-2 win for FPU.
 
Azusa Pacific was the team to strike first in game 2, striking for a run against Freshman starter Derek McNary in the bottom of the first.
 
The Cougars doubled the lead on a solo homer in the third and used a hit batter with the bases loaded in the 6^th to force home an insurance run.
 
The Sunbirds offense woke up in the second with Shane Pursell's RBI single putting a run on the board.
 
But a ball that appeared destined up the middle for more runs was snatched off its line and turned into a double-play that quashed FPU's 7^th inning rally.
 
The Sunbirds would push across another run thanks to an error but could not force more baseball in the scheduled 7-inning contest.
 
The series concludes on Saturday as FPU has a chance to earn series victory on the road with a double-header at Azusa Pacific beginning at noon.
 
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