POMONA -- Derek Marshall Jr. belted a game-tying two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, then Ryon Knowles sealed the win in the 12th with a two-run single, lifting the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team to a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory over visiting University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Friday night at Scolinos Field in Pomona.

With the victory, the Broncos open the 2020 campaign with a 1-0 record while the Mountain Lions begin the season 0-1.

UCCS took the first lead of the night in the third inning on a RBI single up the middle by Matt McDermott, but Knowles came back in the bottom of the third to score Christian Moya on a sacrifice fly to knot the game at 1-1.  In the sixth, the Mountain Lions broke the game open with three runs, chasing starter Gavin Velasquez and reliever Chris Burnette from the game.  Steven Ordorica came in to stop the bleeding and tossed 2.2 innings of perfect ball.

Meanwhile, Drew Cowley cut the deficit in half at 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth on a single through the right side that scored Brennan McKenzie.  However, UCCS answered right back with another McDermott RBI single to make it 5-2 in favor of the visitors heading into the bottom of the ninth.  That's when Knowles delivered a RBI single to score Matt Manskar just before Marshall Jr. knotted the game at 5-5 with his two-run opposite field bomb to send the game to extras.

It wasn't until the 12th inning that either team would break the 5-5 deadlock, it just happened to be McDermott again, homering over the left field fence for the 6-5 lead.  With two outs in the bottom of the 12th and two runners in scoring position, Knowles singled through the left side, allowing Cowley to score easily and Moya to sneak underneath the tag at home to give the Broncos the 7-6 victory.

In the end, Knowles was 2 for 6 with four RBI, McKenzie went 3 for 6 with a run scored while Cowley, Moya and John Pappas each had two hits apiece.  Mathew Orozco (1-0) earned the victory after working the final three innings, allowing only the solo home run in the 12th.

Both teams will continue the four-game series Saturday with a doubleheader (both nine-inning games) at Scolinos Field beginning at Noon.