FRESNO, Calif.-A series victory, completed with a double-header sweep, gives the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (18-16 overall, 12-7 PacWest) sole possession of first place in the PacWest as they knocked off the Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans (20-16 overall, 11-14 PacWest) 13-5 and 8-3 Tuesday evening at the FPU Diamond.
 
The Sunbirds offense raked from the beginning of the day as Tommy Rover's 4 RBI game supported Jared Aguilar's five strong innings as the 'Birds grabbed game one 13-5.
 
Andrew Valdez' three-run homer in the first inning of game two put Fresno Pacific up for good and supported six solid innings from Justin Fuson as the 'Birds held onto an 8-3 win in the nightcap to complete the objective of the series victory.
 
Aguilar worked a scoreless first inning and opened the door for Fresno Pacific offense to do its thing.
 
Rover roped a single to score Koutarou Matsumaru in the bottom of the first after a leadoff double.
 
Matsumaru's infield single in the third capitalized on a rally that blossomed after a pair of two-out walks.
 
Rover drove in another run with a single before Valdez drove in Matsumaru for a three-run inning and extended the FPU lead to 4-0.
 
Chris Clement added a solo homer down the left field line, his first collegiate homer, extending the lead to 5-0.
 
Hilo clawed back with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to pull within two runs, but the Sunbirds offense responded with its biggest outburst.
 
Rover added another RBI on a groundout that was destined for center field if not for a diving stop by the Hilo shortstop. Valdez drove in another run before back-to-back doubles by Aguilar and Miguel Ortiz for a four-run inning.
 
The 'Birds tacked on four more runs after Hilo scored two runs in the top half of the seventh.
 
Rover's sacrifice fly started the inning with Aguilar's two RBI single scoring three after an error.
 
Riley Creech kept Hilo quiet after entering in the 7^th inning, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to end the game with a 13-5 score.
 
Hilo was quick to jump out against Fuson in the first inning of game two, striking for two runs.
 
But FPU responded with three hits to start the bottom half of the inning capped with Andrew Valdez monster homer into the middle of the tennis courts over the left center field fence.
 
Fuson settled in on the mound and Fresno Pacific opened it up in the bottom of the second.
 
Shane Pursell, Cole Yoshida, and Jordan Smith singled to start the inning setting the stage for Valdez's two-run single and Aguilar's two-run double.
 
That would be plenty for Fuson who cruised through six innings, striking out six without walking any batters.
 
Hilo tallied another run in the sixth before Fuson exited but Gino Helmuth shutdown the Vulcans in the 7^th to seal the win, series, and FPU's standing atop the PacWest.
 
Valdez finished the game with 5 RBI while Pursell delivered a 3-3 game at the plate highlighting another big game for the Fresno Pacific offense.
 
FPU will hit the road for the final two series of the season opening up a four-game set against Holy Names on Saturday in Alameda.
 
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