SAN FRANCISCO - Cal Poly Pomona put together an eight-run sixth to break open a close nightcap while senior Noel Soto threw a seven-inning complete game to earn the split of a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) baseball doubleheader with San Francisco State Saturday at Maloney Field.

The final tally was 11-1. The Broncos had also led by that same score six and a half frames into the first game of the twin bill, before SF State staged a furious rally and walked off in the ninth, 12-11.

With the two results, CPP moved to 25-19 overall and a still-even 17-17 in the CCAA. The afternoon victory snapped a season-long five-game slide. San Francisco State is 26-17 overall and 19-16 in league play. The day had begun with the Gators and Broncos third and sixth, respectively, in the conference standings, with the teams still separated by 1.5 games.

Cal Poly Pomona's 2023 regular-season finale is slated for a noon first pitch on Sunday, April 30, on Senior Day at Maloney Field. The Broncos, tied with Stanislaus State for fifth, will look for the series split, and to strengthen its bid for an eighth straight CCAA Tournament berth.

Game One - SFSU 12, CPP 11
The Broncos got out to an incredible start against Gator starter Brody Eglite as they nearly hit for the cycle over just the first four batters before sending 10 to the plate and producing six runs from six hits, five of them for extra bases, in Saturday's first frame.

Brent Cota and Trent MacKinney began with a double and single, respectively, and both trotted home on a fourth home run this season by Nin Burns II for a quick 3-0 advantage. Marco Malerba and Darius Price followed with consecutive doubles down the right field line and it was 4-0 before SF State had even recorded an out. After two strikeouts, Ben Lee went out to left field just like Burns II before him, with the freshman catcher's first collegiate long ball making it a 6-0 bulge.

Cal Poly Pomona opened the third with back-to-back singles by Tyler Chaffee and AJ Nimeh. Lee's sixth double knocked Chaffee in and chased Eglite. Cota's one-out single on a 1-2 pitch scored Nimeh. The lead got to 10-0 in the fifth through an RBI double by MacKinney and a run-scoring Burns II single.

That's when things took a turn. SF State got on the board with a single tally in the home fifth, which was answered by an RBI Malerba single in the seventh to bring in MacKinney. The Gators pulled back a pair in the seventh, however, and exploded for seven in the eighth. The big hit was a two-out, three-run Michael Cunningham home run to cap the scoring in the frame, which still only pulled the hosts to within one at 11-10.

The final half began with a strikeout, infield single and walk before a game-tying RBI single from Nick Upstill. After an intentional walk to load the bases and create a forceout at every bag, Andrew Silva found the left field line for a walk-off single as Daniel Santos came across. The pitching decisions went to Mitch Hofer (1-0) and Eric Romo (4-2).

Making his team-best 11th start of 2023, Rhys Stevens went 5.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits and five walks, striking out six. He ducked around a leadoff single to register a shutdown first after the big Bronco rally, and navigated a one-out double in the second.

Lee wound up 3-for-5 with a double, home run, two runs and five RBI. Burns II went 2-for-4 with a walk, home run, run scored, four RBI, and a team-best 12th steal on 12 tries. Cota was 2-for-6 with a double, run and RBI. MacKinney finished 3-for-6 with a double, three runs and one RBI.

Eglite, like Stevens a junior right-hander, lasted two-plus frames with eight runs against him on nine hits and a walk. He struck out two.

Game Two - CPP 11, SFSU 1 (7)
Cota singled for openers but was wiped off the bases on MacKinney's fielder's choice groundout. Burns II drew a five-pitch walk, and Malerba and Price followed with RBI singles to give the Broncos another early lead. A second Burns II base on balls led off the third and preceded a Malerba single and a sacrifice fly by Price to make it 3-0.

CPP broke the game open in the sixth. A Nick Lugo single and Dylan Long walk were followed by a Cota sacrifice and a pitching change. MacKinney greeted the new arm with a two-run single up the middle. A single by Burns II and walk to Malerba filled the bases, and with two away, Lee unloaded them with a first-pitch double into the gap in left center. A Gator fielding error and two-run, pinch-hit double into the left field corner by senior Dante Palacio rounded out the big frame.

Soto (3-3) went the whole 7.0 innings and gave up one run on seven hits without a walk while fanning five Gators. He retired the side in order in the fourth. Christian Smith connected on a pinch-hit home run in the sixth before Soto got out of that inning through a rare 3-4-1 double play. The SF State seventh started with a pair of singles, but Soto was able to close out his first complete game of 2023 and second as a Bronco with two called third strikes and a fielder's choice groundout. Soto's complete game in 2022 was ironically also against the Gators, that one of the nine-inning shutout variety in Pomona on April 9.

Lugo was 3-for-4 with two runs, while MacKinney, Malerba, Lee and Chaffee provided two hits apiece. Burns II was 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs. MacKinney, Price and Palacio had two RBI each.

Gary Grosjean (3-4) started and took the loss for the home side.
 
Bronco Bits

• Cal Poly Pomona is 380-238 (.615) overall and 270-177 (.604) in CCAA play under 13th-year head coach Randy Betten.
• CPP is 8-11 away from home in 2023, and 6-10 wearing its gold jerseys.
• The first-inning doubles in game one by Marco Malerba, Brent Cota and Darius Price were their team-best 14th, 12th and fourth this season, respectively.
• CPP leads 72-41 all-time in this series that dates back to 1972 (34-23 in San Francisco since 1973).
• The Broncos are 31-14 against the Gators in the Betten era (17-9 in San Francisco).
• CPP swept last year's four-gamer in Pomona by an aggregate score of 32-14 after the teams had split the 2020 set in San Francisco.
• CPP and SF State were among the eight teams reflected in the NCAA's first official West Region poll on Wednesday as being under consideration for one of the six West Regional spots.

 
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