FRESNO, Calif. - Back on home turf, the Fresno Pacific baseball team was given a chance and ran away with it, outscoring Jessup in back-to-back wins to steal back the series split. After four ties in the first game, the Sunbirds came back in the ninth inning to win it 15-14, then carried that intensity into the 6-5 triumph. The results of the doubleheader scrambled the PacWest conference standings, boosting the 'Birds into the Top four.
GAME 1 | FPU 15, JU 14
Just like that, freshman pitcher
Zach Simmon efficiently struck out the first Warrior batter to start the inning. Jessup responded immediately, slamming a homer past the left field fence to take the lead, 1-0. After a strikeout and an unassisted out at first, the Sunbirds took to the plate, hoping to score some runs of their own.
Darryl Dilworth Jr. was the lead-off hitter for the 'Birds, driving a ball down the middle, which
Eric Wilson followed with his own hit to centerfield. With two runners on and one out,
Titus Wheelock reached on a fielder's choice, pushing Dilworth to third, but losing Wilson at second. An impressive swing down the left line by
Aaron Martinez Jr. scored the first big point of the day, tying it at 1.
Strong performances by Simmon, catcher Alez Lopez and Martinez kept the Warriors scoreless in the second inning, tallying two strikeouts, a caught foul ball and holding off two runners on base.
In the third, a Sunbird double play, going from second baseman
Tejean Smith to
Gabe Henderson with a spin move to Wheelock at first, stopped the Warriors. Similar to the second inning, Martinez took care of another foul ball near third base, shutting out the Warriors for the second inning in a row. Wheelock brought the hammer to the bottom of the third! His homerun sailed way over the left field fence, bringing Henderson and Wilson home. The Sunbirds good fortune continued as two more hits to left field got more runners on base. Smith's deep centerfield sacrifice fly scored the fifth run of the game, forcing Jessup to switch their pitcher.
Smack dab in the middle of the game, Jessup's decisive grand slam evened the playing field, tying it right back up at 5. The Warriors were the third team this season to send a homer off the left field foul pole, joining conference opponents Point Loma and Menlo.
Andrew Stalnaker came in as relief for Simmons, effectively stopping the Warrior's scoring streak in the fifth. Without swinging a bat, the Sunbirds retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two back-to-back, bases-loaded walks, 7-5.
Holden Hirschkorn's single to left field and Dilworth's 2RBI single brought in more runs for the 'Birds, sending the Sunbird dugout into an uproar! The Blue and Orange closed out the inning with a 13-5 advantage, tallying eight runs in a short period of time.
The Warriors plated three additional runs at the top of the sixth, shrinking the deficit to 13-8. The visiting team then made a comeback in the seventh, scoring five runs (off a wild pitch, several hits, and a two-run homer) to tie it up at 13. Despite the fact Jessup had recaptured the lead 14-13, an incredible play by catcher Lopez and Henderson picked off a Warrior runner at second to end the eighth inning!
In the bottom of the ninth, Henderson's bouncing hit down the right side brought home Robinson (pinch running for Hirschkorn), tying it up at 14. The Sunbirds made their rallying cry with two outs, two runners on base, and big bat Wheelock heading up to the plate. The first baseman advanced on a hit by pitch and Martinez Jr. won the game for the 'Birds, smashing the ball to right field to finish the game 15-14!
GAME 2 | FPU 6, JU 5
In the first inning,
Dustin Tinsley started on the mound for the 'Birds. With two outs, Jessup's Otis had the solo homer shot to get the Warriors on the board, immediately followed by an identical homer to centerfield by Plaut, making it 2-0. Fresno Pacific didn't take long to respond! Wilson's huge swing was the next homer of the day, bringing Dilworth with him to tie it at 2.
Tinsley recorded two strikeouts in the second inning, boosted by a spinning ground out play by Martinez to Wheelock to keep the Warriors scoreless. In the fourth, the Blue and Orange broke the scoreless streak for both teams, thanks to Smith's double followed by Hirschkorn's single to the left side, taking a 3-2 advantage. Soon after, Wheelock's 2RBI double down the left line secured the third run of the inning for FPU.
With the 5-2 lead, Fresno Pacific switched
Drew Petty for Tinsley in the sixth. The Sunbird defense was on full display as they captured another ground out double play, sending it from Henderson to Smith to Wheelock, for the fifth consecutive scoreless inning. An RBI single by
Chris Clement sealed the insurance run, bringing the score to 6-2. However, a seventh-inning three-run homer by Jessup applied pressure to Sunbird relief pitcher,
Cruz Cabral. Cabral shut the door on the Warriors with a jaw-dropping strikeout to end it, securing the Sunbird series split against Jessup!
The Sunbirds are 25-21 overall, going 20-14 in the PacWest. Coming out of the series split, the 'Birds surpassed Jessup in the conference standings, sitting fourth overall. Over the weekend, Point Loma clinched the conference title, securing one of the four spots in the PacWest Championships. At the moment, Concordia (24-15, 26-21 PW) and Hawaii Pacific (21-14, 23-18 PW) take up the other two slots, coming in second and third respectively. The next few weeks of play will be the determining factor for Fresno Pacific as they face CUI and Vanguard.
SUNBIRD SOCIAL
- X - @fpusunbirds
- Instagram - @fpusunbirds
- Facebook - /FPUsunbirds
#TeamFPU
