IRVINE, Calif.- Early runs put the minds at ease as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (22-20 overall, 16-11 PacWest) grabbed a win in the first game of a double-header split against the Concordia Golden Eagles (18-24 overall, 13-16 PacWest) Friday afternoon.
 
The 'Birds opened the scoring in the first as three of the first four hitters reached, with Jared Aguilar's single plating Koutarou Matsumaru.
 
Jordan Smith's two-run single and Tommy Rover's RBI knock opened up the lead to 4-0 after just an inning and a half.
 
That proved to be more than enough for Jared Aguilar on the mound as the three time all-conference selection dealt for 7 innings, holding the Golden Eagles to just a run.
 
The Sunbirds added another run in the sixth on another RBI knock by Rover.
 
Rover finished the game 4-5 with 2 RBI to power the FPU offense.
 
Riley Creech threw two scoreless innings of relief to clinch the playoff berth for Fresno Pacific.
 
In game two, Rover sparked the offense again with a double in the first before Andrew Valdez plated him with a single.
 
Concordia struck for a run in the second and two in the third, ultimately knocking FPU starter Derek McNary out after three innings.
 
Fresno Pacific tallied a run in the fourth after a trio of singles with Shane Pursell pushing in a run for the Sunbirds.
 
But the Golden Eagles answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning for a 5-2 lead.
 
The score remained unchanged for the final three innings as Concordia drew the split.
 
With the win in game one, Fresno Pacific secured its spot in the first ever PacWest Championships that will be held at the FPU Diamond in Fresno May 10-12.
 
Fresno Pacific wraps up the regular season with one more double-header against Concordia on Saturday beginning at Noon.
 
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