LOS ANGELES - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team was in command through seven innings, but it was all Cal State LA over the final nine as the Golden Eagles swept a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) doubleheader Saturday at Reeder Field. Game scores were 12-11 and 5-1 in seven frames.

CPP falls to 27-17 overall and 22-12 in the CCAA. The Broncos had won five in a row coming in. Cal State LA improves to 17-28 overall and 12-23 in league play in snapping a three-game skid.

Even before its first game of the day went final, Cal Poly Pomona had punched its ticket to a seventh consecutive CCAA Tournament under 12th-year head coach Randy Betten, as Cal State East Bay lost 15-9 at Cal State San Bernardino. The Broncos will thus head to Chico in a week and a half as the reigning champions from 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 editions both having been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CPP had also taken over sole possession of second in the CCAA standings, albeit briefly, at the point that No. 22 Chico State dropped a season-high fourth consecutive game, 8-6, to begin its home twin bill with league leader Cal State Monterey Bay. That result in fact clinched a first regular-season banner since 2018 for the 14th-ranked Otters.

With all that going on, the Broncos were stunned at the death in Saturday's opener, relinquishing an 11-4 lead through back-to-back four-run Golden Eagle innings in the eighth and ninth. Wilem Drozdowski walked it off with a first-pitch, two-out, three-run home run. It was his third long ball of the season, and second in as many games against CPP.

When Saturday activity was done, Cal Poly Pomona and Chico State each dropped both ends of their doubleheaders, to stay tied for second.

Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State LA conclude their weekend series on Sunday, May 1. First pitch in Los Angeles at Reeder Field on Senior Day is again slated for 1 p.m.

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.

Game One - CSULA 12, CPP 11
For the second game in a row, CPP had its first base-runner just five pitches in, as Jacob Lopez wore a 2-2 offering from starter Dylan Needham. He moved into scoring position via wild pitch before an out was recorded, and with one gone, sprinted around to score on Cesar Lopez's two-strike, opposite-field single to left center.

Cal State LA began the home half with three successive singles to tie the game. A one-out fielding error filled the bags, but sophomore shortstop Nick Lugo immediately made up for his miscue by starting an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play that curbed the damage for starter Noel Soto.

CPP surged ahead with a two-out, seven-run rally in the second. Ryon Knowles took a four-pitch leadoff walk and AJ Nimeh worked the count full before accepting his own free base around a pair of groundouts. Casey Slattery's RBI single preceded a second hit-by-pitch to Jacob Lopez to load the bases. Johnny Pappas, whose triple ignited a two-out, 13-run outburst in the 10th inning on Friday night, then rolled a two-run single through the left side, and Cesar Lopez and Ricky Nuñez each followed by pulling RBI singles through the right and left sides, respectively. Knowles came back around and laced a two-run double into the gap in right center for 8-1. Twelve Broncos came to the plate.

Back-to-back two-out doubles by Jacob Lopez and Pappas within a span of three Needham pitches made it 9-1.

The home side loaded the bases with one away and tallied three runs in the third before Soto caught Nick Atkins looking for his first strikeout.

CPP got two of them back, again with two gone, without the benefit of a single hit. The bases were filled through two walks and a hit-by-pitch in between two outs. Slattery and Jacob Lopez each took a 3-2 toss outside the zone to force in a run.

Cal State LA scored four in the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate in the form of designated hitter Drew Emmons in the five hole, but Connor Tousignant got him to line out to Ricky Nuñez in left.

The remaining three-run advantage would disappear in the final half, as the Golden Eagles opened with three straight singles to make it 11-9 ahead of a pinch-hit sacrifice bunt that put the tying run at second. Though leadoff man Johnny Pacheco grounded out to third with no movement from the runners, Drozdowski belted the very next pitch over the wall. He wound up 4-for-5 with a triple, home run and career-best five RBI. Cal State LA's 18 hits were a season high by a CPP opponent.

Soto went 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, a hit-by-pitch and two walks, striking out two. The sophomore right-hander navigated around a one-out single in the second after the big CPP half. Soto needed just eight pitches for a quick 1-2-3 fifth, and then only six for another perfect frame in the sixth. He retired his last eight batters.

Drew D'Ambra came on in relief of Soto and worked around a leadoff single in the seventh with a strikeout and 6-4-3 twin killing. AJ Moreno (1-1) ultimately took the loss.

Knowles finished 1-for-3 with a double, three walks, two runs and two RBI. Pappas was 3-for-6 with a double, run and three RBI. Jacob Lopez went 1-for-2 with two walks, two hit-by-pitches, a double, three runs and an RBI. The second-year freshman designated hitter had a plate appearance in each of the first four innings, and got on base safely every time. He ultimately reached in the first five of his six trips to the plate.

Seven of Cal Poly Pomona's 11 runs were on two-strike hits. The next 10 in a row after the opener came with two outs.

Needham gave up nine runs on eight hits, two hit-by-pitches and two walks in 3.0 frames. The junior right-hander, who had won his past two starts, struck out four. Deandrey Carter (1-2) picked up his first win.

Game Two - CSULA 5, CPP 1 (7)
Three errors got Cal Poly Pomona in trouble in the second, and Pacheco made them all hurt, as he laced an 0-2 pitch into the right field corner for an opposite-field, two-out, three-run triple that put the home side up 3-0.

The Golden Eagles returned the favor to a small degree in the third, as Cesar Lopez reached via infield error with two gone, and a Nuñez single preceded an RBI single to right by Knowles to put CPP on the board.

Cal State LA turned a leadoff Pacheco double into two insurance runs in the fifth, however, as Emmons provided a two-out, two-run single.

Drew Atherton (1-2) tossed 4.2 innings and surrendered five runs, two of them earned, on five hits and three walks. The fifth-year junior right-hander struck out a season-high-tying five. He induced a 4-6-3 double play to escape the third after a one-out double and ensuing base on balls. The fourth was then Atherton's only 1-2-3 frame. Zuko Tillman turned in two swinging strikeouts around a groundout in a clean sixth.

Cal Poly Pomona had a hit in each of the first six innings and a base-runner in all seven, but could only manage the lone run. A 6-4-3 twin killing wiped out a one-out Cesar Lopez single in the fifth.

Owen Hunt (6-1), Cal State LA's leader in nearly every pitching category, gave up an unearned run on seven hits and a walk for his third straight shortened complete game. The junior right-hander fanned five.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 347-217 (.615) overall and 248-160 (.608) in CCAA play under 12th-year head coach Randy Betten ... Betten posted the same batting lineup for the sixth and seventh games in a row ... Second-year freshman designated hitter Jacob Lopez started his 24th and 25th straight games in the leadoff spot ... Twelve more walks on the day increased the Broncos' CCAA-leading total to 259 ... The Broncos are 8-11 away from home in 2022 ... CPP still holds a 117-111 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 1965, with six straight wins prior to today ... The Broncos have defeated only one opponent more, as they have topped another area rival in Cal State Dominguez Hills 123 times ... CPP has not, however, played anyone more than the Golden Eagles, now with 228 meetings (212 against the Toros) ... The Broncos are 25-20 against the Golden Eagles under Betten (9-15 at Reeder Field) ... CPP was the CCAA's preseason favorite, earning six of the 11 first-place votes, with CSULA picked eighth, with one first-place nod ... The Broncos were at No. 5 in Wednesday's first official NCAA West Region poll, which is used to select the six participants of the 2022 NCAA West Regional next month ... Game One: Noel Soto drew his 10th appearance and ninth start on the mound ... Cesar Lopez's first-inning single extended his reached-base streak to 24 games ... Ryon Knowles' walk to lead off the second moved his reached-base streak to 15, with his 11th double of the season later in the same frame extending his team-best hit streak to 15 as well ... Jacob Lopez's third-inning double was his seventh, with Johnny Pappas' his 16th ... Jacob Lopez scored seven runs through the first two games of the series, with a season-high four on Friday night ... CPP reached double-figure runs for the 13th time (11-2), and for the third game in a row for the first time ... The Broncos drew double-digit walks for the 10th time this season and fourth time in the last five games ... Game Two: Drew Atherton had made 11 starts among 20 appearances prior to this season, and now has drawn five straight starts in 2022 after four relief stints ... For the fourth straight series, Betten posted the same batting lineup for the third game in a row, with Pappas catching all 16 innings of his fourth consecutive twin bill ... Cesar Lopez was charged with his first error this season after handling his first 70 chances cleanly ... Knowles' RBI single in the third extended both his reached-base and hit streaks to 16 games ... Cesar Lopez's fifth-inning single extended his team-best reached-base streak to 25 ... Pappas' seventh-inning hit-by-pitch was his team-leading 11th.