Cougars Defeat Broncos in Close Series Opener
POMONA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team fell to Cal State San Marcos on Friday night by a score of 4-6, falling to 19-15 on the season and 15-10 in conference play. With the win, the Cougars remain in first place in the CCAA with their 20th win of the season.
Marco Malerba got the scoring going in the bottom of the first, tripling down the right field line to score Johnny Pappas. Anthony Gibbons would then fly out to center field, scoring Malerba to give CPP a quick 2-0 lead.
CSUSM would score two of their own in the top of the third inning, coming as a result of two costly errors by the Bronco defense. They would then take the lead in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly and stealing home, taking a 4-2 lead.
The Broncos made it interesting in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single from Jack Sanders through the right side, as well as scoring a run on a balk to even the game once again at 4-4. However, the final blow came in the very next inning, when CSUSM would hit a two-run home run to left field to take a 6-4 lead – where it would remain for the rest of the game.
Cal Poly Pomona ace Caleb Reyes gave the Broncos every chance to stay in the game, going 5.0 innings and allowing just two earned runs with six strikeouts on 91 pitches. Drew Atherton came in relief, going 3.0 innings while taking his first loss of the season after giving up the home run in the seventh. Ruben Del Castillo threw the ninth, registering his third straight appearance without giving up an earned run.
The top of the lineup provided nearly all of the offense for the Green & Gold, as the top four hitters collected six of the team's seven hits.
Betten 400th Win Ceremony
Before the game, CPP Athletics honored head coach Randy Betten for his 400th career win that took place on April 6th in Turlock. His son and current player, Beau Betten, presented him with a commemorative poster signed by all of the members of the team.
Up Next
The Broncos and Cougars will play a doubleheader tomorrow, April 13th, with first pitch of game one set for 12:00 PM.
Bronco Bits
- CPP is now 20-5 (.833) all-time against CSUSM dating back to the 2016 season, when the Cougars joined the CCAA. The Broncos are 7-3 against the Cougars in their past 10 games. CPP's longest win streak against San Marcos is 11 games, from 2016 to 2018.
- Randy Betten is now 403-257 (.611) as head coach of the Broncos.
- The Broncos are now tied with San Francisco State for third place in the CCAA standings.
Latest All Athletics News
- Jack Sanders Earns Second CCAA Player of the Week HonorsJack Sanders of Cal Poly Pomona has been selected the CCAA Baseball Player of the Week after an offensive week.
- Senior Day Sweep, Broncos Win 6th StraightThe Broncos won their sixth straight game on Sunday, completing the series sweep over Cal State Dominguez Hills with a 12-0 shutout and improving their overall record to 28-17 on the season. The Broncos have outscored their opponents 57-9 during their six-game winning streak.
- Broncos Climb CCAA Standings While Claiming SeriesThe Cal Poly Pomona baseball team won both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Cal State Dominguez Hills at Scolinos Field, improving their overall record to 27-17 on the season. Their three wins against the Toros thus far ensures a series victory headed into Sunday's series finale. They now sit just half a game behind Cal State San Marcos for first place.
- Broncos Clinch CCAA Tournament Berth With Convincing Win Over TorosFor the ninth consecutive season, the Broncos will be headed to the CCAA Tournament. 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.
- Broncos Rank Top 15 Nationally in Three More Events After 64th Annual Mt. SAC RelaysThe Cal Poly Pomona women's track and field team competed at the 64th Annual Mt. SAC Relays this past weekend, meeting five NCAA provisional qualifying marks and breaking five personal records. Three of the Broncos' five provisional marks in the meet now rank Top 15 in the nation.
- Ryan Fields Captures 15th Career CCAA Track Athlete of the Week AwardFor the fourth time in the past six weeks, Cal Poly Pomona's Ryan Fields has been named the CCAA Men's Track Athlete of the Week for the week of April 15-21. Fields becomes the 40th CCAA Athlete of the Week for CPP during 2023-24, making the Broncos the first school to ever reach 40 in an academic year. Fields now has 15 CCAA Athlete of the Week awards in his career, nearly doubling the previous conference record of eight. His sister, Ayana, is also now second in conference history with nine in her career.
