FRESNO, Calif. - Fresh off a doubleheader sweep on Friday, the Fresno Pacific Baseball team kept up their winning ways on Saturday with 10-5 and 5-3 victories over Hawaii Hilo. The Sunbirds were relentless as first baseman
Titus Wheelock drilled in two three-run home runs in the first game and an offensive team effort fueled the 'Birds comeback from a three-point deficit in the second.
GAME 1 | FPU 10, UHH 5
Pitching was the story of the first two innings of game one as neither team was able to pick up a hit. Sunbird starting pitcher Matthew Bettencourt kept that trend in the top of the third retiring the side in order.
The Sunbird offense would strike in a big way in the bottom half of the third after
Eric Wilson and
Tejean Smith led off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Gabe Henderson singled in the first run of the ballgame, followed by
Aaron Martinez Jr.'s sac fly to make it 2-0 'Birds. The damage wasn't done yet though, as first baseman
Titus Wheelock stepped up to the plate with two runners on and hit a ball 112mph off the bat over the center field fence to give the Sunbirds a 5-0 lead through three. The Blue and Orange would add one in the top of the sixth after Aaron Martinez tripled, then came around to score on a
Titus Wheelock FC, E6.
Bettencourt continued to deal through 5 innings until the 6th when the Vulcans finally got on the scoreboard after Kolby Gushiken doubled, stole a base, and came home on a Wild Pitch to make it 6-1.
Matt Bettencourt would surrender a single, and hit a batter after that to end his day on the mound.
Damon McKenzie would be the first arm the Sunbirds called on from the pen, and immediately surrendered an RBI single to Colby Rafail, then a Mark Fedro 3-run homer to center to pull the Vulcans within one, 6-5.
After a scoreless FPU half of the sixth,
Dylan Senneway emerged from the Sunbird bullpen in the seventh, working around a lead-off single, and stranding the tying tun at 3rd before the FPU offense did damage in the home half. Thanks to a pair of walks and a fielders choice, once again Wheelock came up to the dish with two runners on, and the result was the same as the 3rd inning as Wheelock parked one on the protective netting of the tennis courts in left field to give FPU a 9-5 advantage.
In
Dylan Senneway's second inning on the bump, the junior pitcher made quick work of the Vulcan hitters, getting FPU back to the plate in the eighth where
Brennan Johnson blasted his first home run of the year to give the Sunbirds a 10-5 lead headed to the ninth.
If the eighth inning was quick work for Senneway, the ninth was even quicker as the Sunbird reliever retired the side in order and clinched the series victory for FPU.
In his first start of the season, Bettencourt picked up the win with 5.2 innings of work allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, striking out 3 batters. With his 2 home runs in game one, first baseman Wheelock has now homered four times in the Sunbirds last four games.
GAME 2 | FPU 5, UHH 3
For the first time all series long, the Vulcans took a lead to start game two after a lead-off walk, bunt single, double play, and a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead. In the first inning, Sunbird starter Tyler Gonzalez was injured covering home on the wild pitch, and was relieved by Andrew Stalnaker after finishing the inning.
While the FPU pitching staff kept the Vulcan offense at bay, the Sunbird offense failed to produce early like they had in the prior three games of the series, leaving the score 1-0 after three in favor of the visitors.
In the top of the fourth, UHH's Nico Low tacked on a pair with a 2 RBI single to left field to make it 3-0 for the Vulcans. In the bottom of the fourth, the heart of the Sunbirds lineup came to life. Holden Hirshkorn singled to lead off, Henderson reached on an error, then Chris Clement legged out a bunt single to load the bases. With Wheelock at the plate, Vulcan starter sailed a fastball over the head of his catcher that allowed Hirschkorn to plate the 'Birds first run. Wheelock would knock a sac fly to right that scored Henderson, making it a 3-2 ballgame.
Still 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the 'Birds would threaten, but leave runners stranded at the corners. After working a scoreless top of the fifth, FPU pitcher Cruz Cabral went out for the sixth and was able to retire the side in order as the Sunbirds continued to look for the tying run.
The search didn't last long after Clement led off with a laser beam double off the center field wall. Third baseman Martinez Jr. followed with a single through the left side to set the table, runners on the corners with nobody out for Wheelock. The stellar first baseman had already racked up eight RBI on the series, but maybe none more meaningful than the ninth, lacing a double into the left center field gap scoring Clement to tie the game at three. With the go-ahead run in scoring position, still nobody out, Alex Lopez got the job done with a sacrifice fly to center for the first out of the inning, but more importantly playing the go-ahead run to give the 'Birds a 4-3 lead. With two outs, Ruben Rodriguez slapped a pinch-hit single up the middle to cushion the lead at 5-3.
In a save situation, but not eligible for a save, Cruz Cabral went back out for a 3rd inning of work in the 7th, this time needing 3 outs for FPU to clinch the series sweep. A fly ball to left, a fly ball to right, and a strikeout sealed the deal as the Sunbirds completed the 4 game sweep of Hawaii Hilo.
The Sunbirds are 15-15 overall and 10-8 in conference play. The FPU baseball team is currently ranked fifth in PacWest standings.
NEXT UP: The 'Birds are on the road! Fresno Pacific heads to Hawaii to take on conference opponent, Chaminade from March 27-29th.
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