POMONA - Cal Poly Pomona was unable to bounce back from a four-run second and was defeated by Stanislaus State, 6-1, in its 2023 home finale Sunday on Senior Day at Scolinos Field.

With a third straight loss, CPP is now 24-17 overall and 16-15 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Stanislaus State is an identical 24-17 overall while moving ahead in the standings by a game at 17-14 in league play. The Warriors clinched the series win Sunday, having swept the Saturday twin bill by scores of 4-2 and 6-1 in seven innings, after CPP took Friday's opener, also 6-1.

Eight standout Bronco senior student-athletes were recognized prior to first pitch, in Drew D'Ambra, Elias Jauregui, Trent MacKinney, Matt Orozco, Dante Palacio, Eric Romo, Noel Soto and Zuko Tillman.

The Broncos got leadoff man Brent Cota over to third base in their first turn at the plate through a walk, a one-out wild pitch and a right-sided groundout, but a strikeout left the freshman leftfielder stranded there.

Stanislaus State loaded the bases in the second on two singles and a hit-by-pitch, all with one away. It would turn into a four-run rally with a pair of RBI singles bookending an RBI fielder's choice groundout and a double steal of second and home by Ryan Leonesio and Danny Murphy, respectively. Soto finally got Alex Solis looking to end the inning.

CPP stranded runners at the corners in the home second after Darius Price was plunked for openers and fellow freshman Ben Lee singled with one gone. The Broncos got on the board when Luke Watson and Palacio singled back-to-back to begin the fifth and a two-base error enabled Watson to sprint all the way around.

Stanislaus State widened the gap again in the seventh through a two-run Solis single after the first two Warriors reached and were bunted over.

In the ninth, Tillman came on to register the first out on a ground ball to shortstop, before giving way to fellow senior Jauregui. The first-year CSUN transfer, Pomona native and 2018 graduate of Pomona High School cleaned up a single by dialing up a 6-4-3 double play.

Soto (2-3) allowed six runs on seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings. He set the Warriors down in order on eight pitches in the first on a flyout and two punch-outs. Soto also made quick work of the visitors in the third and fourth, needing nine pitches in each frame, to get three groundouts, an infield popout, a called third strike, and a lineout comebacker. Soto's fourth perfect frame, the fifth, saw him make just seven tosses. In all, he retired 12 straight opposing batters between the second and sixth. Fellow right-hander Scott Armstrong completed the seventh and threw a scoreless eighth with one strikeout.

Lee finished 2-for-4, while Cota was 1-for-4 with a walk and his 11th double of 2023 in the seventh.

Anthony Ramirez (3-1) tossed a season-high 7.0 frames with one unearned run on five hits and two walks against him and a season-best five strikeouts. The fourth-year sophomore right-hander from Saugus and Saugus High School was making a first start this season after 17 relief appearances, and is tied for second in the CCAA with seven saves.

Cal Poly Pomona heads north next weekend to conclude the regular season with four games at San Francisco State. The Broncos still have some work to do there in order to clinch a spot in the six-team CCAA Tournament as two-time reigning champions. First pitch on Friday, April 28, is set for 3 p.m. at Maloney Field. CPP is looking for an eighth consecutive trip to the postseason under head coach Randy Betten.
 
Bronco Bits

• Cal Poly Pomona is 379-236 (.616) overall and 269-175 (.606) in CCAA play under 13th-year head coach Randy Betten.
• CPP finished 17-8 at home in 2023 (40-14 the last two seasons), and is 5-9 wearing its gold jerseys.
• Noel Soto made his ninth mound appearance of 2023, all starts.
• Dante Palacio played in just his fifth game this year, drawing his fourth start (second at DH).
• Marco Malerba's reached-base streak was snapped at 16 games.
• The Broncos' double steal in the fifth gave Nin Burns II a team-best 11 on 11 attempts, and Malerba a second theft on three tries.
• CPP still leads the all-time series, 62-38-1, including 31-20-1 in Pomona and 27-14 in the Betten era (13-10 in Pomona).
• This marks the Broncos' first series loss to the Warriors since dropping a three-game set, also at home, in 2017.
• CPP is fifth in the latest West Region poll, with Stanislaus State rated sixth.

 
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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