Betten Earns 400th Career Win in Doubleheader Sweep
TURLOCK, Calif. – Cal Poly Pomona baseball head coach Randy Betten became the fastest head coach in program history to reach 400 wins on Saturday, doing so in just 655 games. The only other coach to have that many wins is legendary CPP figure John Scolinos, who reached the 400-win mark after 737 career games.
With the pair of wins, CPP improves to 17-13 on the season and climbs to third place in the CCAA standings with a 13-9 conference record.
Game 1: CPP 5, STAN 4
The Broncos defeated the Warriors in the opening game of the series, scoring all five runs in the bookends of the game – the first and ninth innings.
Caleb Reyes delivered the second-longest start of his CPP career, going 8.0 innings and allowing three runs to score. The Encino native struck out six batters and issued just two walks on 109 pitches, his first time surpassing the century mark this season.
The Bronco offense scored three runs in the top of the first inning, coming on a Tyler Chaffee bases loaded hit by pitch, Marco Malerba sac fly, and a Nick Lugo RBI single. The Warriors would get all three back in the fourth and seventh innings.
Heading into the top of the ninth inning, the game remained tied at 3-3. A bases loaded walk to Chaffee and a dropped third strike to Beau Betten would push across CPP's final two runs of the game, giving them a 5-3 lead and positioning Reyes back in line for the win. In total, the Broncos collected 13 hits, with Jack Sanders, Anthony Gibbons, Lugo, Betten, and Brent Cota each with multiple hits in the contest.
In the bottom of the ninth, closer Chris Fields loaded the bases via two walks and a throwing error, putting the winning run on first base with zero outs. He subsequently forced a tailor-made double play, allowing a run to cross while collecting the first two outs of the innings. With the tying run on third base, Fields forced another groundout to shortstop, narrowly escaping the threat and securing Betten's 400th career win with a 5-4 victory. Reyes earned the 11th win of his career, improving to a perfect 4-0 on the season.
Game 2: CPP 6, STAN 4
Starting pitcher Rhys Stevens delivered his third consecutive quality start, having given up only three earned runs in 7.0 innings on the mound. The redshirt junior also struck out a season-high seven batters, while keeping his ERA to the seventh-best in the conference at 3.75 this year. Stevens has been a staple of consistency for the Broncos, pitching at least 6.0 innings in his past six consecutive starts, as he now ranks sixth in the CCAA with 48.0 innings this season.
The Broncos got on the board first in the second inning, coming from a sac fly by Cota and an RBI single to center field off the bat of Johnny Pappas. The Warriors would chip away in the middle innings, scoring in both the fourth and the fifth to even the game at 2-2.
With the score still tied in the top of the seventh, Anthony Gibbons smacked a two-run home run to left center field – his team-leading seventh of the season – to put CPP up 4-2. Stanislaus State once again rebounded from the blow, scoring runs in the seventh and eighth to even the game once again at 4-4. Reminiscent of the first game, the Broncos plated two runs in the top of the ninth on a bases-loaded walk and a throwing error, making the score 6-4 in favor of the Green & Gold.
Carlo Flores would secure the final three outs of the game, leading the Broncos to a doubleheader sweep. Flores picked up the win, his first of the season. He has not allowed an earned run in his 5.0 innings on the year, while also owning a team-leading 0.60 WHIP among pitchers with more than one inning thrown this season.
Up Next
The Broncos and Warriors will conclude their series with a doubleheader tomorrow, April 7th, beginning at 12:00 PM.
Betten Bits
- 1st win came on February 3, 2011 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in his first game with Cal Poly Pomona. He would go on to start his career with seven straight wins before recording his first loss.
- 100th win came on February 14, 2014 against Cal State Monterey Bay.
- 200th win came on April 29, 2016 at Cal State San Bernardino.
- 300th win came on April 27, 2019 at Cal State San Marcos.
- 400th win came on April 6, 2024 at Stanislaus State.
- Owns an all-time record of 401-255 (.611) with a 284-186 (.604) in CCAA games.
- Betten now ranks 69th among active DII coaches in career wins with 401.
- Has registered winning seasons in all 12 seasons at CPP.
- Led the Broncos to eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Won 27 consecutive non-conference regular season home games over a stretch of six seasons from April 21, 2011 to February 24, 2016.
- In his first six seasons at CPP, Betten went 48-11 in non-conference regular season games, including a 31-1 record at home.
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.
