POMONA - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team fell behind by one twice but produced a six-run eighth to top San Francisco State University, 9-4, in the opener of a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series Friday afternoon at Scolinos Field.

CPP snapped a two-game mini-slide, improving to 16-14 overall and 11-9 in the CCAA. The Broncos were idle last weekend and had not played since an 8-7 loss at Sonoma State on Sunday, March 27. San Francisco State dropped to 14-19 overall and 9-16 in league play. Both squads, in fact, were coming off of series splits with the Seawolves.

CPP quickly loaded the bases with one gone in its initial turn at the plate on an infield throwing error, Cesar Lopez single and walk to Ricky Nuñez, but Gator starter Jordyn Eglite got senior second baseman Ryon Knowles to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to escape unscathed.

The Broncos threatened again in the second after the leadoff batter was retired via Eglite's first strikeout, as Tyler Chaffee and AJ Nimeh both singled. The visitors wriggled out of the jam once more, however, as back-to-back groundouts left them stranded at second and third.

The home side finally found its way onto the scoreboard in the third. Johnny Pappas' team-best seventh hit-by-pitch started things off, and the sophomore catcher advanced to third on a one-out Nuñez double. Following an intentional walk to Knowles to fill the bags, Pappas sprinted home on a successful squeeze play off Nick Lugo's bunt.

That's all CPP would get, however, and in the very next frame in the fourth, third-year freshman right-hander Will Rudy encountered his first bit of trouble. A pair of singles around a wild pitch put Gators at the corners, and Kody Gardner's first-pitch RBI single through the right side tied the game. A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases still with nobody out, and AJ Schrader's sacrifice fly gave the visitors the 2-1 edge. A fourth single in the frame filled the bags again, but Rudy was able to curb the damage through an infield popout and a fielder's choice groundout.

That lead was short-lived, as it were, as junior first baseman Casey Slattery hammered his fourth home run of the season with one away in the home fourth out of the No. 9 spot to level matters again at 2-2.

After Rudy ducked around a one-out double to post a shutdown fifth, Nuñez and Knowles produced successive one-out singles in the home half to again put Broncos at the corners. Lugo's ensuing single to right with the count full regained a 3-2 lead for the hosts.

Rudy set down nine Gators in a row following that double by Nick Upstill, with his second perfect frame in the fifth serving as his second consecutive shutdown inning, ahead of a third 1-2-3 effort in the sixth.

SF State struck twice, however, in the eighth to take back the upper hand. A one-out single and walk ended Rudy's day, and an infield single with a throwing error, ahead of a sacrifice fly, made it a 4-3 game.

Once again, CPP answered right back in the home half, and finally grabbed a complete hold of the contest. Slattery sliced a two-strike pitch to the opposite field in left for a one-out single and was lifted for pinch-runner Carl Lawson. Jacob Lopez then drew a base on balls, both Broncos advanced on a wild pitch, and another free pass to Pappas loaded the bases. Cesar Lopez sent a 1-2 offering gently to center for a game-tying single, and after a second Gator pitching change, Nuñez worked a four-pitch walk to force in the go-ahead run.

Chaffee, a third-year freshman third baseman, followed by lifting an opposite-field, two-run triple just over the glove of the leaping rightfielder toward the gap in right center, to really break things open. CPP batted around and sent 10 men to the plate in the frame.

Bronco closer Eric Romo walked his first two hitters in the ninth before shutting the door with a comebacker and two swinging strikeouts.

Rudy went 7.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits, two hit-by-pitches and one walk to his final batter. He struck out five, with the first two swinging around a groundout and infield single in the first. Rudy needed just 10 pitches for his first 1-2-3 effort in the second through a groundout and a pair of lineouts. A one-out hit-by-pitch in the third was wiped out by a 4-6-3 double play. With two gone, sophomore shortstop Lugo made up for his throwing error in the top of the frame by looping an opposite-field, two-run single inside the left field line for some breathing room at 7-4.

Lugo wound up 2-for-4 with a run, stolen base and a game- and season-high four RBI. Nuñez went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, two runs and one RBI. Slattery was 2-for-4 with the home run, run and RBI. All nine Bronco field starters provided a hit.

Matthew Henry (1-0) was the beneficiary of the late outburst, getting the final out of the eighth to pick up his first decision in the green and gold. The sophomore southpaw had gotten out of a bases-loaded jam via fielder's choice groundout after allowing a double and a walk.

Eglite gave up three runs on eight hits, a hit-by-pitch and two walks over 5.0 frames. The fifth-year junior right-hander fanned four. Newcomer Justice Naraghi (0-1) struck out a season-high three over 2.1 innings.

These two teams continue this series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 9. First pitch is set for a 12 p.m. at Scolinos Field, with about a 40-minute break between the final out of the initial game and the start of the 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 336-214 (.611) overall and 237-157 (.602) in CCAA play under 12th-year head coach Randy Betten ... Will Rudy made his 10th collegiate appearance, with his seven career mound starts all coming this season ... Rudy now has a 12.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio, with a league-leading 64 strikeouts against just five walks ... Second-year freshman designated hitter Jacob Lopez started his 11th straight game in the leadoff spot ... Ricky Nuñez's third-inning double was his eighth, with Nick Lugo's ensuing sacrifice hit his first ... Nuñez extended both his hit and reached-base streaks to 10 games, as he becomes the fourth Bronco to put together a double-digit hit streak in 2022 ... Casey Slattery has hit three of his four home runs over the last five contests ... Lugo's fifth-inning stolen base was his second on four tries ... Tyler Chaffee's eighth-inning triple was his team-best third, all coming at home ... Chaffee and Cesar Lopez advanced their reached-base streaks to a current-team -best 11 games ... Five more walks increased the Broncos' CCAA-leading total to 170 ... The Broncos are 12-6 at home and 6-1 in Rudy starts in 2022 ... CPP leads 68-39 all-time in this series that dates back to 1972 (34-17 in Pomona since 1973) ... The Broncos are 27-12 against the Gators in the Betten era (11-5 in Pomona) ... The teams last split four games in San Francisco, March 6-8, 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 suspension, with the Gators taking the opener and finale ... CPP was the CCAA's preseason favorite, earning six of the 11 first-place votes, with SFSU picked fifth.