Broncos Clinch CCAA Tournament Berth With Convincing Win Over Toros
POMONA, Calif. – For the ninth consecutive season, the Broncos will be headed to the CCAA Tournament. This tournament means a little bit more, as it will be hosted at Scolinos Field on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona for the first time in the history of the event (since 1999). It will also be the first time the Broncos have played a postseason game at Scolinos Field since 1985.
With the 12-1 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Broncos improve to 25-17 on the season and 21-12 in CCAA play while ranking third in the conference standings. They are just 0.5 games behind second-place Cal State Monterey Bay and 1.5 games behind first-place Cal State San Marcos.
Catcher Johnny Pappas led off the scoring for CPP, homering to left field on the third pitch he saw to put the Broncos quickly ahead 1-0. It was Pappas' 15th career home run, putting him two away from cracking the all-time Top 10 list.
Jack Sanders had the swing of the night for the Green & Gold. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Sanders drilled a pitch deep over the left field fence to unload the bases and give the Broncos an immediate 5-1 lead.
Jack Slamders ™ pic.twitter.com/yUMqsHiqft— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) April 27, 2024
The Broncos would add on seven more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, coming on 10 hits – including seven singles and three doubles. Pappas led the Broncos with three hits on the night, while Sanders, Anthony Gibbons, Darius Price, Nick Lugo, and Brent Cota each collected multiple hits.
Despite an impressive offensive showing with 12 runs on 15 hits, the Broncos only needed two runs to take home the win, thanks to yet another dominant outing by starting pitcher Caleb Reyes. After nearly throwing a complete game last week, Reyes threw 7.0 innings while only allowing one earned run and striking out seven Toro batters. With the win, he improves to 6-0 on the season and is one of 17 qualified pitchers in the nation to still have a perfect record.
Ruben Del Castillo and Cedrick Perez each tossed a scoreless inning in the eighth and ninth innings, with Del Castillo striking out two of the four batters he faced.
Up Next
The Broncos and Toros will play in a doubleheader tomorrow, April 27th, with game one starting at 2:00 PM. The 1976 CPP national championship team will throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the first game (approx. 1:45 PM), so make sure to be there early!
Bronco Bits
- The Broncos are 130-89 (.594) all-time against Cal State Dominguez Hills, including 7-3 in their past 10 games.
- Randy Betten is now 409-259 (.612) as head coach of the Broncos. He is 33 CCAA wins away from passing John Scolinos for most conference games won in CPP history. Betten is now 292-189 (.607) in CCAA games, while Scolinos was 324-256-3 (.558) in conference competition.
- Jack Sanders' 39-game on-base streak is the longest for CPP since 2012. He has reached base in every single contest since game two of opening day against Azusa Pacific at home.
- Over their past three games, the Broncos have outscored opponents 31-5.
Latest All Athletics News
- Baseball Headed to NCAA Tournament for 16th Time in Program HistoryFor the 16th time in program history, and the eighth time in the past nine seasons, the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team will compete in the NCAA Tournament. With a 31-22 overall record, the Broncos secured the No. 4 seed in the west region, sending them to San Diego for the second time in three seasons.
- Broncos' CCAA Tournament Run Ends in SemifinalsThe Broncos lost two games on Friday, ending their 2024 CCAA Tournament title aspirations. Both games finished with a final score of 5-4, as both Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State will now face each other in the championship game on Saturday.
- Soto and Small Ball Take Down Cougars, Broncos Advance in CCAA TournamentThe Cal Poly Pomona baseball team won their CCAA Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday, defeating Cal State San Marcos 10-3 to improve to 31-20 on the season. With the win, the No. 3 seed Broncos advance to the CCAA Tournament semifinal game against No. 1 seed Cal State Monterey Bay.
- Reyes and Sanders Lead Broncos in CCAA Tournament VictoryThe Cal Poly Pomona baseball team defeated Sonoma State on Wednesday afternoon, winning by a score of 8-3 to pick up their 30th win of the season. With the victory, the Broncos escape the opening round elimination game and advance to the four-team double elimination bracket starting on Thursday.
- Reyes Repeats as Pitcher of the Year, Seven Broncos Named All-CCAA as CPP Prepares to Host TournamentSeven Broncos earned All-CCAA honors on Tuesday night, including Caleb Reyes being named CCAA Pitcher of the Year for the second season in a row. He is the first student-athlete in over 25 years to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
- Men’s Track and Field Completes Three-Peat at CCAA ChampionshipsFor the third consecutive season, the Cal Poly Pomona men's track and field team has claimed the CCAA title. They finished with 250 points, narrowly beating Chico State at 220 and dominating the remainder of the conference – third place being Cal State Los Angeles at 88 points.
