Box Scores: Game One / Game Two
CARSON, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team split a doubleheader with Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday, giving the Broncos a series win after taking three of four from the Toros. CPP came away with an 8-6 comeback victory in game one but fell in the finale, 5-1.
CPP holds marks of 10-4 overall and 4-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. CSUDH's win to close out the series Saturday marked the first conference victory for the Toros this season. The hosts stand at 5-10 overall and 1-7 through league action.
Game 1: CPP 8, CSUDH 6
The Broncos staked a 4-0 lead in the opening half of the doubleheader with an offensive outburst in the third inning.
John Pollock knocked an infield single off CSUDH starter Sean Wardour and eventually crossed the plate on a
Ryan Goodman double. Coming to the plate with two outs, CPP first baseman
Chris Miller smashed a three-run homer over the centerfield fence.
The visitors tacked on another run in the fourth after a sacrifice fly from Pollock brought home
Mike Neff.
The Toros managed to get to CPP starter
Ryan Dunn in the fifth inning, rallying for five runs to tie the game. The CSUDH spurt started with a solo shot from Jonathan Keener.
Kenner ended up scoring a go-ahead run as well, racing home in the eighth to put the Toros ahead 6-5. Left with just three outs and one score behind, the Broncos found more of their comeback magic.
Andrew Klausmeier replaced Wardour on the mound for the Toros and CPP started to mount its rally. Back-to-back singles from
Humberto Tovalin and Garrett Granato set the table for
Mike Santora to bunt in the tying run. Miller followed with a single to leftfield for what proved to be the game-winning hit and
Tyson Edwards knocked in an insurance run to stretch the Broncos' lead to 8-6.
Allen Rodarte continued his strong relief pitching and kept CSUDH off the board in the hosts' final at-bat to secure the CPP victory.
Game 2: CSUDH 5, CPP 1
Miller continued to produce at the plate in game two, helping the Broncos get on the board in the third inning with a sacrifice fly that brought in Goodman. That score put CPP ahead 1-0.
The pitching duel continued between the Broncos'
Kevin Bosson and the Toros' David Fair but CSUDH was able to tie the score at 1-1 in the fourth frame when Kenner singled up the middle to bring in Kevin Pillar.
The Toros managed to break through in the fifth though, on a rally initiated with back-to-back one-out singles. After a shuffle of new pitchers, CPP head coach
Randy Betten brought
Geoff Broussard in for relief. Pillar then came up with the clutch knock for CSUDH with a two-out grand slam to put the game out of reach, 5-1.
The Broncos scrapped together a single in each of the sixth and seventh innings but couldn't chip into the four-run Toros' margin.
Across the four-game series, the CPP attack was led by
Travis Taijeron, who hit .462 across the contests. Goodman also starred, going 7-for-18 at the plate and scoring four runs. Rodarte went 2-0 against CSUDH, while throwing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Jake Reed picked up the other victory for the Broncos with five innings of one-hit ball.
