POMONA, Calif. – A huge sixth-inning rally propelled Cal Poly Pomona to a thrilling 9-7 comeback victory over No. 15 Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday evening at Scolinos Field. The Broncos, trailing 7-3 in the sixth, exploded for five runs to take the lead and held off the Otters late to secure the win. With the victory, CPP improves to 4-6 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
 
CPP wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, striking first in the opening frame. Johnny Pappas led off with a double down the left field line and later came around to score on a Marco Malerba RBI single to left. Anthony Gibbons followed with an RBI single of his own, plating Malerba and giving the Broncos an early 2-0 advantage.
 
Monterey Bay responded in the second, pushing across two runs to tie the game, but Dominic Porter put CPP back on top in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot down the left-field line, his second of the season. However, the Otters kept battling, tying it again in the third on a home run and then taking the lead in the fourth with another solo shot.
 
A tough sixth inning saw the Otters extend their lead to 7-3, capitalizing on a costly error and a RBI groundout. But the Broncos weren't done. The bottom of the frame ignited a comeback, starting with a passed ball that allowed Preston Allen to score. Gibbons delivered again with an RBI single, followed by a clutch Brent Cota triple to cut the deficit to one. Porter immediately followed with a triple of his own to bring in the tying run, before Beau Betten's RBI single gave CPP its first lead since the second inning.
 
CPP added insurance in the eighth when Sebastian Arguelles grounded out to bring home another run, making it 9-7.
 
On the mound, starting pitcher Anthony Cosme struggled to find the zone, walking six batters and allowing four earned runs acorss 3.2 innings of work. Chris Fields earned the win with 3.1 solid innings of relief, his second of the season, allowing just one earned run while striking out four. Anthony Vasquez locked down the final two innings, striking out four to earn the first save of his collegiate career.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos and Otters continue their series with a doubleheader tomorrow, February 22^nd, starting at 2:00 PM at Scolinos Field.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 42-38 (.525) all-time against Cal State Monterey Bay.
• Randy Betten is now 420-272 (.607) as head coach of the Broncos.
• The last time the Broncos were 4-6 to open the season was 2017.
• Chris Fields ranks second in the CCAA in lowest opponent batting average at .183.
• Johnny Pappas has hit a double in four consecutive games. He now ranks 9^th all-time with 44 career doubles.
• Pappas is one run scored away from tying his current coach, Jenzen Torres, for fourth on the all-time list at 144.
• Beau Betten is just one hit by pitch away from cracking the Top 10 all-time in program history, currently sitting at 21. He has only played in 60 career games for CPP. The career record belongs to his current coach, Jenzen Torres, who was plunked 51 times from 2009-12.