SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Broncos struggled to get the bats going on Friday, losing to No. 4 ranked Point Loma by a score of 8-3 in the NCAA West Regionals in San Diego. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 32-23 on the season and now face elimination on Saturday.
The Sea Lions got out to a quick lead, plating three runs on three hits in the top of the first inning as the designated visiting team. Johnny Pappas responded with a solo shot to right field to lead off the bottom of the first, making the score 3-1 and taking sole possession of ninth in the Cal Poly Pomona baseball record book with 18 home runs in his career.
Point Loma took control of the middle innings, scoring five runs – including two home runs to center field – to extend their lead to 8-1. The second home run knocked CPP starting pitcher Noel Soto out of the game, as he finished with a final line of 5.1 innings pitched and seven earned runs on 101 pitches.
The Broncos got one back in the bottom of the frame, coming from an AJ Nimeh double down the left field line to score Jack Sanders.
Relievers Carlo Flores and Chris Fields shut down the Sea Lion bats out of the pen, allowing a combined one hit and zero runs while striking out three in 3.2 innings.
CPP's last push came in the bottom of the ninth, as they were able to plate their final run on a pinch-hit RBI single from Ben Lee. In total, six different Broncos collected one hit, three of which came in the final inning.
Interview
Up Next
The Broncos and Sea Lions will play tomorrow, May 18th, at 11:00 AM. If the Broncos win the first game, they will force a winner-take-all second game at 2:00 PM – with the winner of that advancing to the super regionals. If CPP loses at any point, their season will come to a close.
Links
Tournament Central: https://plnusealions.com/sports/2024/5/13/2024-bsb-west-regional-tournament-central.aspx
Live Stats: https://plnusealions.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/plnu/
Tickets: https://plnusealions.universitytickets.com/
Bronco Bits
- The Broncos are now 14-9 (.636) all-time against Point Loma dating back to the 1994 season. They are also 4-6 against the Sea Lions in their past 10 games. CPP's longest win streak against PLNU is 9 straight games, lasting from 2000 to 2017.
- Randy Betten is now 416-265 (.611) as head coach of the Broncos.
- The Broncos are now 4-12 in away games, with an all-time record of 52-33, in the NCAA Tournament. They are also 31-24 all-time in the West Regionals.
- The Broncos have never been to the Super Regionals in program history, as that playoff format was not introduced in Division II until the 2019 season.
Latest Men's Baseball
- Anthony Mizrahi Elevated to Assistant Coach for CPP BaseballAnthony Mizrahi has been hired as an assistant coach for the Cal Poly Pomona baseball program, it was announced by head coach Randy Betten. Mizrahi had most recently been serving as a program associate with the Broncos since the 2020 season, helping lead the team to an overall record of 109-74 (.596) and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances during that span.
- 93 Broncos Named CCAA All-Academic for 2023-24Over a thousand student-athletes across 12 CCAA member institutions and 13 sports earned CCAA All-Academic honors for the 2023-24 school year. Cal Poly Pomona ranked sixth with 93 athletes recognized.
- Sixty Broncos Named to CCAA Honor Roll From Winter and Spring SportsThe California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) announced its academic awards for the winter and spring sports on Tuesday morning, with 60 Broncos being recognized. That mark is the fifth-most in the conference, however, it ranks first in the CCAA on a per-sport basis.
- Johnny Pappas Named to ABCA All-Defensive West Region TeamBronco catcher Johnny Pappas was named to the 2024 ABCA Division II All-Defensive West Region Team on Thursday, it was announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
- Broncos Finish With 18 CSC Academic All-District HonoreesCal Poly Pomona spring sports saw 11 student-athletes earn recognition on Tuesday for the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Three student-athletes earned the recognition in the winter, while four earned it in the fall – bringing this year's total to 18 for the department.
- Reyes Named D2CCA All-America Honorable MentionCaleb Reyes added the final award to his distinguished Cal Poly Pomona career on Thursday, being named a Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-America Honorable Mention.