SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team exploded for 16 hits to capture a 6-1 victory in game one, but the offense slowed in game two, falling 4-1 to host San Francisco State on Sunday at Maloney Field in San Francisco.
After splitting the four-game series, the Broncos move to 13-8 overall and 11-5 in the CCAA. The Gators go to 14-8 (8-8 CCAA).
Just four batters into Sunday's opener,
Brennan McKenzie smashed his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot scoring
Dante Palacio for the early 2-0 lead. Two more runs came home in the fourth for the Broncos on RBI singles from
Andrew Martinez and
Matt Manskar. An inning later, McKenzie came up big again, singling home Palacio for a 5-0 lead before
Shane Gipson brought home Martinez in the eighth inning for a 6-0 lead late.
The only run scored by the Gators came home in the bottom of the eighth off of reliever
Will Rudy. CPP starter
Cameron Mabee (1-1) got the win after going the first six innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. In fact, between Mabee, Rudy and
Steven Ordorica, who got the save after coming in with a five-run lead and the bases loaded with one out in the eighth, the Broncos allowed just six hits in the contest.
Offensively, six CPP hitters posted multi-hit games, led by the three hits off the bat of Martinez.Â
Ryon Knowles, Palacio, McKenzie,
Drew Cowley, and Manskar all had two hits each.
In the nightcap, the Broncos could only get a run off six hits in the seven-inning affair as the Gators tagged reigning CCAA Pitcher of the Week
Rhys Stevens for four runs in his 5.2 innings of work. One of the runs broke a scoreless tie in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, then three more runs came home in the fifth. It was in the sixth when Martinez reached on a bases loaded fielders choice, allowing
Cesar Lopez to score CPP's only run in the series finale.
McKenzie had the only multi-hit game for the Broncos in game two, going 2 for 3.
Cal Poly Pomona will return home to host Sonoma State in a four-game set at Scolinos Field in Pomona, beginning Friday at 6:00 p.m.
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