POMONA, Calif. – Cal Poly Pomona made a late push, but fell short in a 4-2 loss to No. 10 Colorado Mesa on Thursday afternoon at Scolinos Field. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 2-2 on the season while it was the Mavericks' season opener, making them 1-0 to start the 2025 campaign.
The Broncos were held scoreless through the first seven innings before breaking through with a pair of runs in the final two frames. However, a strong pitching performance from the Mavericks proved too much to overcome.
Starting pitcher Tyler Reiter battled through five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out three. Colorado Mesa struck first in the third inning on an RBI double before adding two more in the fifth, including an unearned run on a sacrifice fly.
Reliever Anthony Vasquez kept the Broncos within reach, tossing three strong innings while allowing just one run on one hit with three strikeouts. Andrew Campbell followed with a clean ninth, making his season debut, but the early deficit proved costly.
Down 4-0 in the bottom of the eighth, the Broncos finally cracked the scoreboard. Sebastian Arguelles reached on an error and advanced to third before Christian Gomez brought him home with an RBI groundout.
In the ninth, Dominic Porter led off with a single to third base, and came around to score on a clutch RBI single up the middle from Julian Angulo, making it 4-2. Angulo is hitting a blistering .579 to start the season, leading the CCAA with 11 hits in CPP's four games. With no outs and the winning run on first base, Colorado Mesa's closer JJ Almeda struck out three consecutive Broncos to shut the door and secure the win for CMU.
Despite matching the Mavericks with eight hits, the Broncos struggled to string together offense against Mesa's pitching staff. Starter Ethan Voss (1-0) dominated through five shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three.
Angulo and Marco Malerba led the Broncos with two hits apiece, while Porter, Arguelles, and Brent Cota each chipped in one.
Up Next
The Broncos and Mavericks will continue their series tomorrow, February 7th, with a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 PM.
Bronco Bits
- The Broncos are now 6-2 all-time against Colorado Mesa, with Thursday's game being their first meeting since 2007.
- Randy Betten is now 418-268 (.609) as head coach of the Broncos.
- The last time the Broncos were 2-2 to open the season was 2020.
- CPP leads the CCAA by a wide margin with a .336 team batting average.
- Julian Angulo currently leads the CCAA in hits with 11.
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