Box Scores: Game 1 / Game 2
CCAA Tournament Info
LOS ANGELES - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team suffered two losses Saturday, getting swept in a doubleheader at Cal State L.A. to conclude the regular season. It marked just the second time this year that the Broncos dropped two games in the same day.
Hours later, UC San Diego completed a sweep of Cal State San Bernardino to eliminate the Coyotes from the race. The Tritons scored the winning run for game two in the final inning off of a balk call. That result allows CPP to advance into the conference tournament as the fourth seed.
Extending the season into next week also increases the Broncos' chances of entering the NCAA Division II Tournament. The winner of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament gets an automatic bid, while three other squads earn at-large bids based on in-region merit. In the latest NCAA West Region poll,
CPP held the No. 4 spot.
"Our players have done everything I've asked them to do," Broncos' head coach
Randy Betten said. "It was truly a team deal for us to get to the postseason. We're extremely excited about the chance to keep playing."
After rooting for a Tritons' victory Saturday, the CPP squad will now get to challenge top-seeded UCSD on Thursday in the first round of the CCAA Tournament. The matchup of the No. 1 and No. 4 teams will be the first matchup of the day, with the start time set for 3 p.m. This marks the first time since 2005 that the Broncos have reached the conference event.
After Saturday's doubleheader against the Golden Eagles, the Broncos' marks settle at 30-19 overall and 22-18 in conference play. CSULA finishes its season in sixth place at 27-23 overall and 21-19 through league action.
Game 1: CSULA 5, CPP 2
Defense hurt CPP a bit in the first game, as the visitors totaled two errors en route to three unearned runs. The Golden Eagles broke through with two runs in the first, as Manny Acosta delivered with a two-out, two-run single. CSULA collected four hits in the fourth inning, adding two more scores.
The Broncos finally got on the board in the fifth, when a groundout from
Humberto Tovalin brought in
Chris Miller. The three-run margin would be as close as CPP could get though.
The Golden Eagles tacked on a run in the sixth, while the Broncos rallied for one in the eighth with an RBI groundout by
Jenzen Torres.
Wally Goodline hurled a complete-game performance for CSULA, allowing eight hits while striking out five. Senior right-hander
Michael Parker threw well for CPP in relief, going the final 2.2 innings and holding the Golden Eagles' scoreless.
Senior outfielder
Travis Taijeron ended the game with three of the Broncos' eight hits, with all three of them being doubles.
Game 2: CSULA 5, CPP 2
In similar fashion to game one, the host CSULA squad staked an early advantage and didn't let up. Designated hitter Brian Moon launched a two-run homerun over the tall rightfield fence to lift the Golden Eagles up 2-0 in the first.
CSULA added three more scores in the second, forcing CPP head coach
Randy Betten to go to the bullpen, replacing
Jake Reed with
Geoff Broussard.
Throwing four scoreless relief innings, Broussard kept the Broncos in the ballgame. The CPP bats, however, couldn't give him enough support.
The Broncos got on the board with a run in the fourth, after a Miller sacrifice fly allowed Taijeron to score. CPP added another in its final at-bat, as
Tyson Edwards recorded his first homerun of the season to leadoff the inning.
It proved to be too little and too late though, with the Golden Eagles closing out the doubleheader sweep behind a complete-game seven-inning outing from Gabriel Asakura.
Taijeron finished the series 8-for-14 (.571) at the plate and still was outdone by teammate
Stephen Gonzalez, who posted a 8-for-13 (.615) effort. Taijeron homered twice in the series, finishing the regular season with a league-best 14.
