LA MIRADA, Calif.- The Fresno Pacific Sunbird bats ignited Saturday for a pair of wins against the Biola Eagles at Eagles Diamond.
GAME ONE
The Sunbirds opened their its final Saturday series of the regular season with a gutsy comeback victory, overcoming a five-run deficit to top the Biola Eagles 10–8 in a dramatic, back-and-forth affair. Early on, it appeared Biola was poised to cruise to a win. The Eagles jumped on Sunbird starter
Cameron Gallardo for seven runs through three innings, capitalizing on defensive miscues and timely hitting. The Eagles started the scoring with a no-doubt solo shot to left-center in the bottom of the first. The second inning snowballed quickly, as a walk and an error were followed by a pair of RBI singles, extending Biola's lead to 5–0.
The Sunbirds began to claw back in the third inning. Gavin Enns drew a leadoff walk, and Trent Mallonee followed with a single. A sacrifice fly by Aaron Martinez Jr. and an RBI single from Shane Pursell brought in two runs. After Biola responded with a solo home run and another RBI single in the third to push their lead to 7–2, the 'Birds turned to reliever Jake Turley, who would prove to be the game-changer.
Turley slammed the door shut for the rest of the afternoon, throwing seven masterful innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out three. With Biola's offense suddenly neutralized, the Sunbirds pounced. They chipped away with a run in the fourth from Chris Clement, who doubled and later scored on a groundout, and then added two more in the fifth courtesy of Jacob Solorio's two-run double off the left-field wall.
The seventh inning proved decisive. With the bases loaded and two outs, the Eagle's defense faltered. An error allowed one run to score, and then Enns stepped up with a clutch two-RBI single to center, flipping the lead in the 'Birds' favor, 8–7. The Sunbirds added two more runs in the eighth, highlighted by a scorching RBI double from Pursell, and held off a final Biola push in the ninth. Despite a double and sac fly by Biola cutting the lead to two, Turley calmly induced a liner to first to end it.
In game one, Solorio went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, while Mallonee and Pursell each had two hits. Enns, who reached base four times, delivered two RBIs and played a key role in both rallies. The Sunbirds drew eight walks and were hit by three pitches, showing patience and resilience throughout the contest. With Turley's dominant outing out of the bullpen and consistent pressure on Biola's pitching.
GAME TWO
Game two was a slugfest, and the Sunbirds turned it into a showcase of offensive depth and firepower, routing Biola 15–8 behind a monster afternoon from Mallonee and a relentless bottom half of the lineup. Mallonee set the tone early, slapping a leadoff single and eventually scoring on a two-run blast by Cole Brincefield to deep center, his third home run of the season. However, Biola responded immediately, tying the game in the first with a solo shot to left field.
After a string of base hits and a miscue in the field, the Eagles plated three runs to take a 5–3 lead. Then in the fourth, a passed ball and another defensive error helped Biola tack on two more, making it 7–3 and knocking Alford out of the game. Still, the 'Birds weren't fazed. In the fifth, the bats came alive. After Mallonee reached for the third time, Martinez walked, and Brincefield reached on an error. That set the stage for Micah Barkenhagen, who laced a two-run double into the left-center gap to tie the game. Chris Clement added an RBI single up the middle to give the Sunbirds their first lead since the opening frame.
Then came the explosive sixth inning, where the 'Birds sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in a momentum-shifting outburst. After Biola's bullpen brought in three pitchers to try to stop the bleeding, it was Brincefield again who delivered the knockout blow, a two-RBI single that gave the Sunbirds a 9–7 lead. Barkenhagen, who finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two walks, added another hit, and catcher Ethan Tsui drove in two with a clean single. Enns followed with a two-RBI double before being cut down at third on an aggressive base-running play. All told, Fresno Pacific turned a tie game into a 15–7 rout in a single frame.
On the mound, the bullpen tandem of Evan Fanconi and Matt Bettencourt bridged the middle innings, while Dylan Senneway earned the win with 2.2 innings of sharp relief, striking out three and giving up just one run. Defensively, despite a couple early miscues, the Sunbirds tightened up late and avoided the big inning that plagued them in the early going.
Statistically, it was a team effort. Mallonee finished a perfect 5-for-5 with a double and four runs scored. Brincefield drove in four and scored three times, while Tsui and Enns each added two RBIs. Every Sunbird starter either scored or drove in a run, as they posted 14 hits and drew seven walks.
UP NEXT
The Sunbirds will head to Atherton for a pair of games against the Menlo Oaks Thursday ,April, 24th with game one starting at 11am. Fresno Pacific will then host the Oaks for their final games of the regular season Monday, April 28th.
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