Broncos Stunned by Yotes in Regular Season Finale, Look Ahead to CCAA Tournament
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team fell to Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday afternoon in heartbreaking fashion, as the Yotes hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to win the final game of the regular season. Though the game had no effect on the CCAA standings, the series loss likely has regional ranking implications for CPP. The reigning west region champion Yotes finish their season at 23-25, while the Broncos now own a 29-20 overall record headed into the postseason.
Darius Price had a weekend to remember, going 3-for-5 on Saturday with two home runs. On the weekend, he now has seven hits with five extra base hits and nine runners batted in, raising his batting average back up to .309 on the season. AJ Nimeh also exploded offensively for the Green & Gold, going 8-for-18 (.444) on the weekend with four runs scored and five RBI.
Evan Adolphus took the mound for the Broncos, giving up five earned runs in 6.0 innings. The Broncos put up a three-spot in the top of the seventh inning, helping keep Adolphus in line for the win. CSUSB would plate one more in the eighth inning to narrow the lead to 7-6, eerily resembling the second game of the doubleheader on Friday. CPP tacked on their final run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by none other than Price, extending the lead to 8-6 with three outs to go.
In the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two runners on, the Yotes connected for a no-doubt home run to complete the comeback and stun the Broncos in the regular season finale. It was the Broncos' 20th loss of the season, and secured the series win for San Bernardino.
Up Next
The Broncos have secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CCAA Tournament, placing them against No. 6 seed Sonoma State. They will play in the opening game of the tournament on Wednesday, May 8th, at 1:00 PM. If the Broncos survive that elimination game, they would likely play against the No. 2 seed at 3:00 PM the following day. This will be the first CCAA Tournament ever played at Scolinos Field.
Bronco Bits
- The Broncos are 86-78 (.524) all-time against Cal State San Bernardino, including 5-5 in their past 10 games.
- Randy Betten is now 413-262 (.613) as head coach of the Broncos. He remains 29 CCAA wins away from passing John Scolinos for most conference games won in CPP history, and given that his career-high is 28 in one season, he will likely have to wait until 2026 to accomplish this feat. Betten is now 296-192 (.607) in CCAA games, while Scolinos was 324-256-3 (.558) in conference competition.
- Johnny Pappas added one to his career walk total, now with 99 in his career. With two more, he will pass both Jenzen Torres (2009-12) and Tom Weeks (1984-87) at 100 for fourth place on the all-time list.
- The Broncos have never been the No. 3 seed in their 13 CCAA Tournament appearances.
- CPP is 3-1 all-time against Sonoma State in the CCAA Tournament, their last meeting being on May 8, 2014 with a 9-4 win – exactly 10 years prior to their game on Wednesday.
- The Broncos have won the CCAA Tournament three times – 2015, 2019, and 2022. That is the second-most in conference history behind Chico State and Sonoma State, each tied with five.
Latest All Athletics News
- Do or Die, Baseball’s Season Comes Down to SaturdayThe 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.
- Broncos Collect 22 Hits in Regional Win Over CougarsThe 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.
- Four Broncos Earn All-West Region HonorsFour Cal Poly Pomona baseball student-athletes earned All-West Region First Team honors on Wednesday morning, including Johnny Pappas, Caleb Reyes, Rhys Stevens, and Jack Sanders.
- CCAA Joins FloSports in Historic Media Rights AgreementFloSports, a leading global sports media company, and the CCAA, the most successful NCAA Division II conference with 156 National Championships, have entered into an exclusive multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement to begin this Fall.
- CCAA Joins FloSports in Historic Media Rights AgreementFloSports, a leading global sports media company, and the CCAA, the most successful NCAA Division II conference with 156 National Championships, have entered into an exclusive multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement to begin this Fall.
- CCAA Joins FloSports in Historic Media Rights AgreementFloSports, a leading global sports media company, and the CCAA, the most successful NCAA Division II conference with 156 National Championships, have entered into an exclusive multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement to begin this Fall.
