FRESNO, CA – Menlo Baseball traveled to Fresno Pacific University on Monday and battled their way to a doubleheader split against the Sunbirds. The Oaks used a clutch home run from Chase Hilde to power a 6-4 victory in Game One, but narrowly missed a comeback in Game Two, falling 4-6.
Game One: Menlo 6, Fresno Pacific 4
After falling behind early, Menlo stormed back behind the bat of Chase Hilde. The Oaks first run of the day came early in the top of the second when Zach Dyer singled up the middle and Jaden Fulsher singled to right field, putting two runners on base. Bradley Morris singled to right field to score Dyer and get on the board. Fresno Pacific extended their lead to 1-3 after two frames, but the Oaks responded in the top of the third. Justin Flannery led off with a single to the shortstop. Braydon Allie then doubled down the left line to advance Flannery to third to set up Hilde. The junior infielder launched a towering three-run homer to left field, giving Menlo its first lead at 4-3.
The Sunbirds tied the game in the sixth inning, but the Oaks showed resilience in the ninth. Carter Harris and Flannery both drew walks before a passed ball allowed Harris to score the go-ahead run. Moments later, Matt Morrison added insurance with an RBI single up the middle, putting Menlo up 6-4.
Landon Rowland started game one and held his command through 5.0 innings earning 4 strikeouts, only one walk, and allowing 3 runs off of 7 hits. Chase Barstti made an appearance before Matthew Verdugo came in for 2.2 innings of work, striking out one batter. Anthony Tellez was the one to shut the door in the bottom of the ninth, stranding the bases loaded to secure the win.
Game Two: Fresno Pacific 6, Menlo 4
Fresno Pacific came out hot again in Game Two, scoring three runs in the opening inning. Menlo fought to stay in it, but Fresno Pacific extended their lead to 0-5 after five innings. The Oaks finally broke through late, scoring four runs to claw back into the game. The rally started when Carter Harris was hit by a pitch and followed by a double through the left side from Justin Flannery. Braydon Allie cleaned up the bases with a double to center field to score the first two Oak runs of game two. Bases were juiced again when Brayden Wilson drew a walk and Matt Morrison singled to first base, advancing Allie to third. Next up to the plate was Zach Dyer and he was able to single up the middle once more to score Allie and advance all runners. One final RBI single from Ramone Valenzuela would put the score at 4-5, but the Oaks could not score any more runs to pull off the comeback.
Oaks fans saw appearances from Trey Silva (2.0 IP), Wesley Payne (2.0 IP), Donovan Kerr (1.0 IP), and Sam Grannes (1.0 IP) in game two of today's doubleheader. They managed to strikeout one Sunbird batter and only walk two.
Up Next….
Menlo will look to carry the momentum from Game One's win into their next and final PacWest series in Hilo, Hawaii on Friday, March 2nd with a doubleheader against the Vulcans at 6pm PST!
