POMONA - Cal Poly Pomona was ultimately too much in all three facets of the game in sweeping a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball doubleheader from Cal State San Marcos at Scolinos Field Saturday. Scores were 10-7 and 7-4 in seven innings.
With the day's results, third-place CPP improves to 25-15 overall and 20-10 in the CCAA. The Broncos are 10-1 in April, and have won 11 consecutive league games at home. Cal State San Marcos, which has dropped six straight, falls to 13-28 overall and 9-22 in conference play. Cal Poly Pomona had also taken Friday night's opener, 9-2, and thus clinched a fifth CCAA series victory, and third in succession.
CPP rallied from a 6-4 deficit with back-to-back three-run frames in the seventh and eighth to begin the twin bill. The Broncos got strong starting pitching from right-handers
Noel Soto and veteran
Drew Atherton.
Second-year freshman designated hitter and leadoff man
Jacob Lopez had a big day, driving in six across the two contests, with a season-best four-RBI haul in the nightcap that included his first collegiate home run.
Cal Poly Pomona, the CCAA leader in walks, drew 14 more on the afternoon, matching its season high of 12 in game one.
This set concludes with a single finale on Sunday, April 24. First pitch is again slated for 12 p.m. at Scolinos Field. The Broncos will be in search of their third consecutive home series sweep.
All CCAA baseball contests throughout this 2022 season are streaming live online via the CCAA Network at
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Game One - CPP 10, CSUSM 7
Cal Poly Pomona tallied single runs in each of the first two frames.
Jacob Lopez singled for starters and scooted to second on a wild pitch ahead of a one-out walk to
Cesar Lopez. With two away,
Ryon Knowles hit a single up the middle that shortstop Demetrius Freeman picked up and threw past his second baseman, allowing
Jacob Lopez to score on the error.
Nick Lugo worked the count full and drew a walk to load the bases, but a strikeout curbed the damage for the Cougars.
CPP filled the bags again in the second, with no outs this time, as
AJ Nimeh and
Jacob Lopez both took 3-2 pitches outside the zone around a
Casey Slattery single. A
Johnny Pappas sacrifice fly made it 2-0.
Three singles, the latter two of the bunt variety, began the third. Soto got Griffin Teisher looking, but Luke Reece followed with a game-tying two-run single to left. Following a double steal, Pat MacDonald Jr. dropped an opposite-field RBI single just inside the left field line to give CSUSM its first lead of the series. Soto was able to finally escape the inning by handling another bunt attempt after a flyout.
There was no shutdown frame to be had for the Cougars, however, as
Tyler Chaffee whacked a two-run no-doubter out to left with one gone in the home half to regain a 4-3 edge for the home side. Lugo was hit by a pitch just before the third-year freshman third baseman's second home run of the season, the first by either team in the series.
Soto came back to register a shutdown fourth with two punch-outs bookending a pickoff. He issued his lone walk to Emilio Luna, but the sophomore fired to Slattery moments later to clean that up.
CSUSM put together a second three-run rally in the sixth to go back on top by the score of 6-4. A four-pitch leadoff walk preceded an RBI double by Mark Stanford into the left field corner, a third bunt single, and two successful squeeze plays around a third steal for two more runs.
CPP squandered a one-out double by Pappas in the sixth, but after
Connor Tousignant offset a leadoff single in the seventh with a 4-6-3 double play and flyout, the home half began with a Knowles double down the right field line. The graduate student moved to third on Lugo's flyout ahead of a walk to Chaffee, and scored on Nimeh's fielder's choice groundout to close back to within a run. Slattery's walk moved the tying tally into scoring position, and with a new pitcher entering the fray, a season-high third base on balls for
Jacob Lopez loaded the bases. Pappas came through by pulling a two-run single into left to go up 7-6.
The Broncos filled the bags yet again with one gone in the eighth through a Knowles walk and singles by Lugo and Chaffee, and doubled their lead on Nimeh's sacrifice fly on an 0-2 toss. Slattery took a 3-2 pitch, and two insurance runs came around on
Jacob Lopez's single.
Closer
Eric Romo took over for Tousignant (5-1), who earned the winning decision, and ducked around a two-out hit-by-pitch in the eighth. Despite a leadoff double and RBI groundout for the Cougars in the ninth, Romo shut the door by getting Reece swinging for his league-leading fifth save of 2022.
Soto pitched 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out eight, including the first two batters he faced, both swinging. Soto fanned at least one in each of the first five frames, with multiples in three. He was perfect in the first and second, retiring the first six Cougars in order.
Ricky Nuñez made a sliding grab of a soft Aiden Richert liner in left to end the second.
Pappas finished 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Chaffee went 2-for-4 with a home run, walk, two runs and two RBI.
Jacob Lopez was 2-for-3 with three walks, a run and two RBI. Knowles wound up 2-for-4 with a double, walk and two runs. Nimeh had two runs, two walks and two RBI.
For CSUSM, Nolan Long gave up four runs on four hits, two hit-by-pitches and five walks over 3.0 frames. The true freshman left-hander struck out one. Trevor Schott (1-4) was pinned with the loss.
Game Two - CPP 7, CSUSM 4 (7)
CPP picked up where it left off with
Jacob Lopez working the count full and accepting a six-pitch walk to begin the home first. Pappas followed by lining an 0-2 offering into left field.
Cesar Lopez then also singled via bunt, and for the second time on the day, CSUSM committed a first-inning error on an infield hit to allow the initial run to come home.
The Broncos got a big boost of a two-run second, thanks to
Jacob Lopez's first career home run. With Slattery at first after Nimeh's one-out single and a fielder's choice groundout, the Montclair native roped a two-out, two-strike shot over the left field wall for 3-0.
Atherton then needed just eight pitches for the second straight frame to go nine-up, nine-down to begin the game.
CPP doubled its advantage in the home third, loading the bases on two singles and a hit-by-pitch. Chaffee's flyout was not deep enough, but Nimeh's was, his sacrifice fly plating Nuñez. Slattery was plunked, and back at the top of the order,
Jacob Lopez bounced a first-pitch, two-run single right up the middle to continue his stellar day and make it 6-0.
Atherton, a fifth-year junior out of La Crescenta, got help from Knowles on a tough play up the middle for the first out of the fourth as nothing had left the infield still against him. Richert then lifted one into no man's land in left that Lugo did his best to catch, but the ball dropped and was ruled a double. It became a moot point moments later, when MacDonald Jr. belted an RBI double into the gap in right center. Atherton settled back down and stranded him at second.
Cal Poly Pomona got that run right back in the home half via two-out rally, as Chaffee followed Lugo's single to center with an RBI double to left center that the Cougar outfielder was unable to squeeze.
CSUSM had runners at first and second against Atherton with two away in the fifth before
Cesar Lopez expertly tracked a deep fly ball by Teisher and caught it right up against the bronco-head logo in right.
Atherton issued his only walk in the sixth to fill the bags, but escaped unscathed by getting Freeman to fly out harmlessly to Nuñez in left.
Atherton (1-1) went a season-long 6.0 innings and surrendered one run on four hits, two hit-by-pitches and one walk, striking out a season-high five and earning his first win of 2022. He posted a 13-pitch 1-2-3 first with two groundouts around a lineout, all to Knowles at second. Like Soto before him, Atherton was clean through two, getting two more groundouts, those to Lugo, around a strikeout in an eight-pitch second. The third saw groundouts to Chaffee and Knowles around a strikeout.
Jacob Lopez was 2-for-3 with the home run, another walk, two runs and four RBI. Pappas, Knowles and Lugo each added two hits.
Redshirt junior right-hander Jacob Casson (2-2), a first-year transfer from Holy Names, gave up six runs, five of them earned, on eight hits, two hit-by-pitches and two walks over 3.0 frames, striking out one.
Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 345-215 (.616) overall and 246-158 (.609) in CCAA play under 12th-year head coach
Randy Betten ... Betten now has guided the Broncos to 20-win CCAA ledgers in all but one of his 10 campaigns that weren't pandemic-affected ... Second-year freshman designated hitter
Jacob Lopez started his 20th and 21st straight games in the leadoff spot ... Fourteen more walks on the day increased the Broncos' CCAA-leading total to 227 ... The Broncos are 18-6 at home in 2022 ... CPP has swept five doubleheaders this year, including three straight and four at home ... CPP is 17-2 against CSUSM, all since 2016 and under Betten, with six straight wins ... The Broncos remain perfect in Pomona against the Cougars at 11-0 ... CPP was the CCAA's preseason favorite, earning six of the 11 first-place votes, with CSUSM picked 11th ...
Game One: Noel Soto drew his ninth appearance and eighth start on the mound ...
Cesar Lopez's first-inning walk moved his current team-best reached-base streak to 20 games ...
Ryon Knowles' first-inning single extended his hit and reached-base streaks both to 11 games, with a leadoff seventh-inning double his ninth of the year ...
Johnny Pappas' second-inning sacrifice fly was his team-leading fourth on the year, with three coming over the first two games of this series ... Pappas' sixth-inning double was his 14th ...
Eric Romo's save was his seventh in the green and gold ... The Broncos drew double-digit walks for the seventh time this season and first since March 22 ... CPP reached double-figure runs for the 10th time (9-1) ... Bronco pitching allowed more than five runs for the first time in April ... CPP pitching had double-figure strikeouts (10) for the 15th time in 2022, and first since March 25 ...
Game Two: Drew Atherton had made 11 starts among 20 appearances prior to this season, and now has drawn four straight starts in 2022 after four relief stints ... For the third straight series, Betten posted the same batting lineup for the third game in a row, with Pappas catching all 16 innings of his third consecutive twin bill ...
Cesar Lopez's first-inning single moved his current team-best reached-base streak to 21 games ...
Jacob Lopez's home run was the 20th for CPP this season ... Knowles' third-inning single extended his hit and reached-base streaks both to 12 games ...
Tyler Chaffee's fourth-inning double was his sixth.
