Box Score
SEASIDE, Calif. – Despite a late rally in the ninth inning, the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team dropped a 5-3 decision on Saturday to Cal State Monterey Bay. Until their final at-bat, the Broncos struggled to get the offense going against Otters' right-handed starter Paul Brock.
Down 5-1 entering the top of the ninth, CPP rallied for two scores with overall patience and singles from Travis Taijeron and Humberto Tovalin paying off. The contest ended with Mike Santora striking out with the bases loaded, ending his 23-game hit streak. In the streak spanning from March 12 to April 30, Santora totaled a .360 batting average.
The Broncos hit the ball well all day but the line drives continously found the gloves of the Otters. After taking the first two contests of the series by a combined score of 32-8, the vistors dropped the final two games for the split.
CPP's marks now stand at 28-17 overall and 20-16 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while CSUMB improves to 19-25 overall and 16-19 through conference play. The Broncos remain in fifth place in the CCAA standings, just .020 percentage points behind fourth-place Cal State San Bernardino.
The pitching matchup featured Brock against CPP sophomore left-hander Ryan Dunn. The Otters got on the scoreboard first, plating a run in the opening inning with a Jared DeCastro single scoring Greg Fujii.
The Broncos rallied to tie the game at 1-1 during the top of the fourth. Jordan Whitman lined a single up the middle to serve as a one-out baserunner. He then stole second base, giving CPP its first runner in scoring position of the day. Jenzen Torres, battling a full count, delivered with a clutch single in front of the rightfielder to score Whitman.
Broncos' senior right-hander Michael Parker came on in relief for Dunn in the bottom of the fifth, stranding Fujii on third with two outs to keep the score at 1-1.
The Otters managed to capture the lead once again, as Tony Hernandez and Tyler Soto picked up back-to-back RBI hits in the sixth to bring CSUMB in front, 3-1.
The strong offensive showing for the hosts continued in the seventh inning, as the Otters picked up two more runs. Right-handed reliever Geoff Broussard helped CPP limit the damage, striking out Tony Hernandez to record the final out of the frame.
Brock nearly recorded a complete game, until the Broncos managed to load the bases in the top of the ninth with two outs. Stephen Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, bringing in Taijeron. Tovalin then singled with a bouncer along the first-base foul line, allowing Torres to come home. Otters' reliever Jake Paolinetti finally closed the door on CPP, sending Santora down on strikes.
Up next for the Broncos will be a four-game series with Cal State L.A. to wrap up the regular season.
Through this week's series with CSUMB, Taijeron finished 10-for-13 to highlight several impressive offensive performances.
