POMONA, Calif. – With two weeks remaining in the 2015 regular season, the No. 15 Cal Poly Pomona are heading into their final home weekend. The Broncos sit at the top of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings and with two more wins, CPP will clinch a spot in the conference playoffs. In the first regional rankings released Wednesday, the Broncos have been ranked as the No. 1 team in the West.
CPP currently holds a 23-9 mark in the CCAA with an overall tally of 31-11. For the final home series of the regular season, the Green and Gold will take on the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors. CSUS has recorded an overall 19-23 record while going 14-18 in conference play.
Friday will mark the first day of the series and CPP will host the Warriors with a 1 p.m. start. Saturday features the final regular season doubleheader at Scolinos Field beginning at 11 a.m. On Sunday, eight members of the CPP squad will play their final regular season home game in Green and Gold.
Nick Cooksey,
Matt Muñoz,
Chris Powell,
Kyle Garlick,
Austin Boyle,
Brennen Salgado,
Mike Philp, and
J.J. Franklin are the Broncos' senior class. After Sunday's 11 a.m. start time, there will be a family and friends BBQ.
Looking at the series history between the Broncos and the Warriors, CPP holds a slight advantage. Last season the Broncos took three-of-four in the series and improved to an overall 47-30-1 record over the Turlock-based Warriors.
On the conference leaderboards you will see the CPP names pop up a number of times.
Christian Kelley has been going off all year, and currently ranks second in the CCAA with a .385 average at the plate. Kelley and Garlick both have reached base in 24-consecutive games. Garlick leads the conference with 14 homeruns and is third with 39 runs batted in.
On the bump, the Broncos have a solid starting rotation with Powell,
Max Bethell,
Cody Ponce, and
Ryan Olson. Three members of the CPP pitching staff have made their way onto the CCAA leaderboards.
Ponce, while not on the CCAA boards due to a lack of innings pitched, does lead the Broncos with a 1.35 earned run average (ERA). Sitting at fourth in the CCAA with a 1.72 ERA, second with seven wins, and tied for fourth with 58 strikeouts is Olson. Also with 58 strikeouts and a fifth-place 1.97 ERA is Powell. Closing things out on the mound is Franklin as he leads the conference in saves, currently owning 10.
After CPP hosts the Warriors, they will take to the road for the final series of the year as they challenge the San Francisco State Gators.
Postseason PictureThe top four teams in the conference will advance to the CCAA Championships Tournament to be held May 7 through May 10 in Stockton. After that event, the NCAA Tournament field will be announced with the top six West Region squads included. The first NCAA Division II Regional Poll was released this Wednesday on NCAA.com:
