POMONA - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team banged out four extra-base hits during a four-run first inning and held on late over Cal State East Bay, 12-7, to open a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series at Scolinos Field on Friday night.

With a second straight win, CPP improved to 10-11 overall and 5-7 in the CCAA. In dropping a third game in a row, Cal State East Bay fell to 10-9 overall and 3-6 in league play.

After Will Rudy needed 16 pitches to get two groundouts and a strikeout in a clean first frame, sophomore catcher Johnny Pappas poked an opposite-field triple inside the right field line with one gone to ignite the big home half. Ryon Knowles reached on an infield error while Pappas stayed put, ahead of a two-run Cesar Lopez double and RBI double by Ricky Nuñez, both to right field, on the next two offerings by Pioneer ace Tommy Scavone. A third consecutive two-bagger, this one by shortstop Nick Lugo, quickly made it 4-0 in favor of the home side.

Rudy was not able to register the shutdown second, as Luke Novitske hit a one-out double, moved to third on a Francisco Pedraza single, and scored on Ryan Maciel's RBI fielder's choice groundout.

East Bay scored two more in the third, again through a one-out rally, as Essex Brown Jr. singled, Manny Garcia was hit by a pitch and Jacob Klinovsky pulled an RBI single through the right side for 4-2. Cleanup hitter Matthew O'Mahony's sacrifice fly made it a one-run game.

Knowles led off the home third by sending his sixth double down the right field line. The second baseman advanced to third on a right-sided groundout by fellow senior Cesar Lopez, and scored on a Nuñez single through the left side.

The home sixth opened with a Tyler Chaffee single off of new pitcher Derek Flowers. After a fielder's choice groundout brought up the top of the Bronco order, Jacob Lopez lined an opposite-field RBI double into the gap in right center to increase CPP's lead to 6-3 and extend his team-best hit streak to 12 games. The second-year freshman designated hitter advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a second CSUEB error.

Junior right-hander Scott Armstrong took over for Rudy and cruised through a shutdown seventh via flyout and two swinging strikeouts.

CPP added a pair of runs in the seventh. Nuñez led off with an infield single, moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on Lugo's groundout, and scored on a third Pioneer miscue. Luke Watson's two-out, opposite-field double plated AJ Nimeh.

East Bay made things pretty scary with a four-run eighth, getting a two-run single from O'Mahony still with nobody out, and then a one-out, two-run home run from Pedraza over the left field wall for 9-7.

The Broncos got three of those tallies back in their final turn, however, to breathe a little easier going in the last half. Third-year freshman Carl Lawson, who had just entered the game defensively to begin the top of the inning, started the two-out rally with a single to center. CPP went on to load the bases via back-to-back walks, ahead of a bases-clearing triple to the opposite field in right center by Chaffee.

Rudy (4-1) pitched 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on five hits, a hit-by-pitch and one base on balls. The third-year freshman right-hander struck out nine. Three of them came around his lone walk in the fourth. Rudy's second perfect frame came in the sixth, with two groundouts following a called third strike. Armstrong totaled four punch-outs. Eric Romo handled the ninth and got around a one-out single by inducing a game-ending double play off Garcia's bat.

Nuñez finished 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBI. Knowles was 1-for-4 with a double, walk, steal and two runs. Cesar Lopez went 1-for-4 with a double, run and two RBI. Lugo was 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, one run and an RBI. Pappas wound up 1-for-5 with a triple and run scored. Chaffee went 2-for-5 with the triple and three RBI.

Scavone (2-3) gave up five runs, four of them earned, on seven hits and two walks over 5.0 frames, striking out three. The second-year freshman right-hander settled down after the rocky first to register a 1-2-3 second. He had entered the day second in the CCAA in innings pitched (32.0) and tied with Rudy for second in strikeouts at 38 apiece.

Cal Poly Pomona and East Bay continue this four-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 19. First pitch at Scolinos Field is at 12 p.m., with approximately a 40-minute break before the shortened seven-inning nightcap.

All CCAA baseball contests throughout this 2022 season are streaming live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. Fans may also download the CCAA Network app on your iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku or Apple TV. The CCAA Network has moved to a subscription-based model at just $9.95 per month. Subscribers have access to all CCAA broadcasts, both live and on-demand.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 330-211 (.610) overall and 231-155 (.598) in CCAA play under 12th-year head coach Randy Betten ... Will Rudy made his eighth collegiate appearance and fifth start on the mound ... Second-year freshman designated hitter Jacob Lopez started his second straight game in the leadoff spot of the batting order ... Jacob Lopez's four-pitch walk in the fourth extended his reached-base streak to 19 games, and his sixth-inning double was his third ... Johnny Pappas and Tyler Chaffee's triples were the first of their Bronco careers ... The first-inning successive doubles were the seventh, fifth and fifth of the season, respectively, for Cesar Lopez, Ricky Nuñez and Nick Lugo ... Luke Watson stole his second base in three tries in the fourth, with Ryon Knowles adding his team-best fourth steal on four attempts in the sixth ... AJ Nimeh's seventh-inning steal was the first of his college career on his first try ... Watson's seventh-inning double was his fourth ... The Broncos scored double-digit runs for the sixth time ... CPP matched its single-game season high of six doubles, and produced season bests of two triples and eight extra-base hits ... Six more walks increased the Broncos' CCAA-leading total to 125, with CPP having entered Friday in a three-way tie for 11th nationally ... The Broncos are 8-5 at home in 2022 ... CPP leads 33-21-1 in a series that is thought to go all the way back to 1965 (16-10-1 in Pomona since 1994) ... The Broncos are 22-14 against the Pioneers under Betten (12-8 in Pomona) ... These teams last met March 29-31, 2019, splitting a four-gamer in Pomona with CPP winning twice around a Saturday doubleheader sweep by East Bay ... CPP is the preseason favorite in the CCAA, earning six of the 11 first-place votes, with CSUEB in seventh.