|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
R |
H |
E |
|
Cal Poly Pomona (12-4, 5-4 CCAA) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
11 |
11 |
0 |
|
Chico State (11-4, 5-4 CCAA) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
7 |
9 |
3 |
|
Pitching |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
W - Erick Ruvalcaba (3-0)
|
7.0 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
|
L - Kagen Hopkins (2-1) |
5.0 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
CHICO, Calif. - With senior shortstop
Mike Santora leading the way, the offense of the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team broke out in big way Friday in an 11-7 road win at No. 15 Chico State.
The result moves the two teams into a tie in the conference standings, as each owns a 5-4 mark in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. The Wildcats and Broncos will resume their series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
CPP knocked three homeruns in the Friday night game, with one each coming from Santora,
Donald Walter and
Charles Ball. It marked the first career homers for all three of those players.
Santora finished 4-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored and three runs batted in. Defensively, he added four assists and as a team CPP played error-free ball through the nine innings.
Right-hander
Erick Ruvalcaba got the start in the opener of the four-game series in Chico. He was virtually unhittable through the first five innings, allowing the Broncos to hold an 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
Santora opened the game with a single and came around to score after a defensive miscue by the hosts. CPP pushed its lead to 4-0 when
Charles Ball tallied his first career homerun in the fourth inning, with that knock bringing in
Donald Walter and
Joseph Eusebio.
Although the host Wildcats got on the scoreboard in the fourth with a solo shot, the Broncos countered quickly with four runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Walter delivered an RBI hit for one score and then Santora knocked a three-run shot over the Nettleton Stadium fence to push CPP in front 8-1.
The Wildcats' offense made things interesting with four runs in the bottom sixth and another in the seventh, cutting CPP's advantage to 8-6 going into the final two frames.
The Broncos didn't let the CSUC momentum linger though, getting an eighth-inning one-out rally that was capped off by a two-run double from sophomore
Humberto Tovalin. The final score for CPP came off a Walter solo shot in the ninth.
While the Broncos offense picked up its final runs to keep a reasonable distance, senior right-hander
Allen Rodarte provided relief for Ruvalcaba. Rodarte pitched the final two innings, allowing a run and striking out two. Ruvalcaba threw seven innings and earned the win to improve to 3-0.
