FRESNO, Calif.- One day after home runs burned them, the long ball preserved the 2023 season for another game as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds ended the season, and the history, of the Holy Names Hawks with a 7-6 win in the 2023 PacWest Baseball Championships Thursday afternoon.
 
Holy Names scored in the bottom of the first after a leadoff double, but Justin Fuson locked in and limited the damage with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.
 
Fuson struck out the next six batters he faced and allowed a window for FPU's offense to thrive.
 
With two runners on in the second, Cole Yoshida hit a ground ball to second base but Shane Pursell slid in before the attempted force out and Jordan Smith came around to score, prolonging the inning.
 
Donte Valdez bounced a ball over the wall in right center for a two run double, giving FPU a 3-1 lead.
 
The game got crazy from there as FPU tallied another run in the fourth when Pursell lined a homer over the left field fence but Holy Names responded with two in the bottom of the inning to limit the difference to 4-3.
 
Koutarou Matsumaru added a solo homer in the fifth but the Hawks responded with a run in the bottom of the inning with a bases loaded single.
 
The decisive blow came from Matsumaru who belted a two run double with two outs in the sixth.
 
That proved to be needed as Holy Names got a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning before Riley Creech kept APU quiet in the seventh.
 
Gino Helmuth slammed the door with two scoreless innings to prolong FPU's season into another elimination game Thursday night.
 
 
SUNBIRD SOCIAL

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

 
#TeamFPU