Box Score
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team dropped a 5-2 decision Thursday at UC San Diego, as the two teams started a four-game series.
Although Broncos' starting right-hander
Casey Yokubaitis succeeded at working out of multiple jams and
Scott Sibley threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief for CPP, the Tritons' staff ace Tim Shibuya stifled the visitor's offense. He threw a complete game, while scattering five hits and striking out 11 hitters.
The Broncos fall to 15-8 overall and 9-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and UCSD improves its marks to 18-7 overall and 11-6 through conference play.
The UCSD attack got going early with three runs in the first inning, as the key hit came in the form of a two-run single off the bat of Evan Kehoe.
After the Tritons tacked on a single score during the bottom of the fourth, the Broncos rallied back for their first run of the contest in the top of the fifth.
Jordan Whitman and
Tyson Edwards opened the inning with back-to-back doubles and Whitman later scored on a groundout from
Chris Miller.
A high pitch count got the best of Yokubaitis, who was replaced by Sibley in the bottom of the fifth with two runners on base and two outs. Sibley managed to strike out Matt Hubbard to end the inning and keep the UCSD lead at 4-1.
After the Tritons tallied an unearned run in the sixth, CPP bounced back for a score in the top of the seventh. Whitman again started the rally with a double. After Edwards grounded out and Miller was hit by a pitch, Whitman raced home on a wild pitch from Shibuya.
Despite helping the Broncos pull to within three runs once again, Shibuya retired the final six CPP batters to secure the victory for the hosts.
With
Travis Taijeron going 1-for-4, he stretches his hitting streak to a current team-high of five games. Whitman finished the day 2-for-4, which marks his ninth multi-hit game of the season to pace the Broncos in that statistic.
CPP and UCSD will return to action Friday for a 6 p.m. contest in La Jolla. Then, the two squads wrap up the series Saturday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader in Pomona at Scolinos Field.
