SAN MARCOS, Calif. - Cal Poly Pomona surrendered 12 runs over the final five innings across two games and got walked off in both ends of a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) doubleheader with Cal State San Marcos at CSUSM Baseball Field on Saturday. The host Cougars rallied for a 5-4 triumph in game one, and overturned a 7-0 late deficit to win 8-7 in the seven-inning nightcap.

With the day's results, CPP moves to 22-14 overall and 14-12 in the CCAA. CSUSM is now 13-19 overall and 7-15 in league play. The Broncos had won four straight entering Saturday, while the Cougars snapped a three-game losing streak.

Bronco starting pitchers AJ Moreno (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 K) and Rhys Stevens (6.0 IP, 7 H, R, 7 K) allowed a solitary run combined over their 11 frames, but the bullpen allowed those 12 scores in the latter innings.

CPP will look for the series split as these teams conclude their four-game set with a single Sunday finale at CSUSM Baseball Field. First pitch is again set for noon.

Game One - CSUSM 5, CPP 4
Cal Poly Pomona led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3, but was unable to hold on. With the game tied 3-3 after seven frames, Darius Price led off the eighth with his first triple of the season. With one away, AJ Nimeh drove him in with a single up the middle.

Still trailing by that 4-3 deficit heading into the home ninth, CSUSM got a leadoff single from Ethan Rivera, with a wild pitch moving the pinch runner to second. Back-to-back groundouts left the Broncos one out away with the tying run standing at third, but Emilio Luna sent the first pitch he saw from new arm Scott Armstrong (3-1) into left for a game-tying RBI single. Following a second wild pitch in the frame that put the winning run in scoring position, an infield throwing error allowed Luna to race home from second for the walk-off tally.

Stevens made his team-best ninth start on the mound and tossed 6.0 effective innings with just one run allowed on seven hits and two walks. The fourth-year junior right-hander struck out seven.

Earlier in the game, Nin Burns II had opened the scoring with his third home run of 2023, a solo effort with two outs in the first. Cedrick Perez's first triple as a Bronco knocked in Burns II for 2-0 in the third.

Game Two - CSUSM 8, CPP 7 (7)
Cal Poly Pomona jumped out to a 2-0 lead courtesy of the long ball, as Johnny Pappas and Tyler Chaffee provided solo blasts with one out in the first and two gone in the second, respectively. The home runs were Pappas' third and Chaffee's team-leading sixth on the season.

CPP made it 3-0 in the fifth through a two-strike RBI single by Pappas to plate Chaffee after a leadoff double on an 0-2 pitch by the latter. The Broncos seemingly had the game broken open through a four-run sixth, capped by a first-pitch, two-run Pappas single, but that was not to be.

CSUSM got three scores back in the home half and brought the tying run to the plate, but leadoff man Anthony Pacino flew out on a 3-1 toss by Edrian Rangel to leave the bases full.

That was unfortunately not the last of the drama from the home side. In the seventh, Nick Schnopp laced a two-run double into the left field corner and the Cougars had the tying run actually on base at first still with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. CSUSM followed with back-to-back RBI singles, both on 0-2 pitches, to level the score. With Cougars at first and second, Tanner Aoki worked the count to 3-1 and lifted an RBI single that sent Luna sprinting around second with the decider.

Moreno started for CPP and threw 5.0 shutout frames, scattering two singles and three walks. The third-year sophomore right-hander out of La Verne and Bonita High School struck out five to match a career best.

Pappas was 3-for-4 with the home run, run and a season-high four RBI. Chaffee finished 3-for-4 with a double, home run, three runs and an RBI.
 
Bronco Bits

• Cal Poly Pomona is 377-233 (.618) overall and 267-172 (.608) in CCAA play under 13th-year head coach Randy Betten.
• CPP is 6-9 on the road in 2023, 5-8 wearing its gold jerseys, and 9-5 in one-run games.
• Nin Burns II stole a base in each contest to give him a team-best nine on the year on nine attempts.
• Tyler Chaffee's home run in the nightcap was his 10th as a second-year Bronco.
• The Broncos are 19-4 against CSUSM in the all-time series that started in 2016, including 7-4 in San Marcos, with Saturday's losses snapping an eight-game win streak against the Cougars.
• CPP was receiving votes outside of the top 30 of Monday's latest Collegiate Baseball Division II poll.

 
All home games and most away contests will stream live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. You 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. For $9.95 per month, subscribers will have access to all CCAA broadcasts, both live and on-demand, for one low monthly price. Over half of each monthly subscription purchase will go directly back to the CCAA Athletic Department of your choice to support the student-athlete experience. Sign-ups are available right now at each universities' network portal. Just go to CCAAnetwork.com, select your favorite team at the top and the 'click to subscribe.'

CPP Athletics has gone cashless! Tickets are on sale now for all CPP baseball home games. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online prior to coming to campus at broncoathletics.com/tickets or by downloading the HomeTown Fan app on your smartphone or tablet. New this year, only debit and credit cards will be accepted at the box office for admission. Limited concession items will be on sale on-site as well, and the concession stand will also only accept debit and credit cards.

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