Good Sports: Major upgrades coming for Fresno Pacific baseball

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno Pacific baseball program is hitting the upgrade button thanks to a $3 million donation from Fresno's Daniel R. Martin Family Foundation.

Head coach Oscar Hirschkorn has been at the helm since the program's inception in 2006, building a winning culture with back-to-back national Christian college championships in 2014 and 2015.

"This allows us to have top-of-the-line facilities for this level comparable to anyone in the country," he said.

The gift helps begin construction on a three-phase project at the Steinert Athletic Complex.

That includes new concessions stands, restrooms, stadium seating with shade and a new press box.

"I still can't walk out to the field without imagining what's it's going to look like and how much fun we're going to have in the stadium," says pitcher Brady Crow.

For players like Crow, there's a brand new 2,600 square foot clubhouse featuring 40-plus lockers to call home -- making recruitment speak for itself.

"You walk into a stadium and clubhouse and you don't really have to say anything," Hirschkorn said.

For the Sunbirds, it's an opportunity to take the program to new heights, enriching Central Valley talent along the way.

"Baseball's obviously a huge sport in the Central Valley, and it's just so cool to think that I'll get to play in this stadium and so many other kids that will get the opportunity to come here will get to play here," Crow said.

For Coach Hirschkorn, the donation reflects the hard work built on the backs of birds who have come before.

"I personally want to thank the players that came before when we didn't have anything," he said. "We started from literally nothing -- we didn't have a field, we didn't have a cage, we didn't have a baseball. We're here now because players took a leap of faith and joined Fresno Pacific, making it a program worth investing in."

The Sunbirds will have wait a little longer, with construction estimated to begin following the 2023 season.

For now, the excitement will carry them through.

"A lot of good times and a lot of good baseball played this year," Crow said.