SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team won their opening game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday, defeating Cal State San Marcos by a score of 13-5. Their 22 hits in the win is tied for their most in a game since 2017, when they collected 28 hits – which was also against Cal State San Marcos.
Marco Malerba led the offense, going a perfect 5-for-5 with four singles and a double. Shortstop Nick Lugo had the swing of the game, belting a grand slam in the bottom of the third inning to give the Broncos a 5-2 lead. The Green & Gold never looked back after that swing, maintaining that lead for the rest of the game. Brent Cota also finished with four hits, the first time he has done so in his CPP career.
Jack Sanders belted his 14th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning, extending the lead to 7-2. That ties Ryan Vorell (2001) for fourth-most in a season in program history. The Broncos' 57 home runs as a team this season ranks third all-time.
Caleb Reyes gave the Broncos yet another long start, this time going 8.0 innings and throwing 109 pitches. Despite allowing 11 hits, Reyes only surrendered three earned runs, striking out six and allowing just one free pass via a hit by pitch. With the win, the Encino native improves to 8-1 on the season and 15-4 in his career.
Ruben Del Castillo pitched a scoreless ninth inning, securing the Broncos' 32nd win of the season.
Interview
Up Next
The Broncos will face No. 4 Point Loma tomorrow, May 17th, at 12:00 PM. If the Sea Lions lose to the Cougars this afternoon, tomorrow would turn into an elimination game for Point Loma. If the Sea Lions eliminate the Cougars today, then the rest of the regional essentially turns into a best-of-three series.
Update: Point Loma defeated Cal State San Marcos 4-2 on Thursday, eliminating the Cougars from the postseason. Cal Poly Pomona will now play a "best-of-3" series against PLNU, starting Friday, May 17th, at 12:00 PM. The second game will be on Saturday at 11:00 AM, and a third game would follow at 2:00 PM if it becomes necessary.
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 24-6 (.800) all-time against Cal State San Marcos, including 4-2 this season. Thursday was San Marcos' first-ever NCAA Tournament game, having joined NCAA Division II in 2016.
- Randy Betten is now 416-264 (.612) as head coach of the Broncos.
- The Broncos are now 29-15 in neutral games, with an all-time record of 52-32, in the NCAA Tournament. They are also 31-23 all-time in the West Regionals.
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.