TOURNAMENT CENTRAL  |  PHOTOS

SEASIDE, Calif. - Two big home runs in a five-run fifth broke open a close game as Cal Poly Pomona fell to ninth-ranked host Cal State Monterey Bay, 8-2, on day two of the 2023 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship West Regional #1 on Friday at the Otter Sports Complex.

With both California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rivals winning their openers at the sub-regional on Thursday to knock out 2022 national runner-up Point Loma, Friday marked the first game of a best-of-three series to determine who will move on to the West Super Regional next weekend. The second meeting is slated for a 12 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Should CPP even the set, a deciding third contest would take place approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of game two, with all of the action airing on the CCAA Network.

Fifth-seeded CPP drops to 29-22 overall. A third successive victory moves top-seeded CCAA regular-season and tournament champion CSUMB to 38-16 overall and 23-7 at home. The teams are at-large and automatic NCAA qualifiers, respectively, out of the CCAA.

CPP was the designated home team on Friday, so with the Otters up to bat first, the game began with an infield error. Bronco ace Caleb Reyes worked around it, however, through a flyout and a comebacker that he turned into an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play. Reyes then also picked JJ Engman off of first base to end the second after hitting him.

A second Bronco infield error preceded the game's first hit by either team to begin the third as Kyle Guerra doubled into the left field corner to put two Otters in scoring position. An infield single by Jacob Dressler at the bottom of the order, and a fielder's choice ground ball by Chase Lindemann at the top, gave the hosts a 2-0 lead. Reyes managed from there to cut down the CCAA's first-ever back-to-back Most Valuable Player, Brady Miguel, with his first strikeout of the afternoon, and the league's leading hitter, Nico Hartojo, on a flyout to end the frame.

A shutdown third was not to be had by CSUMB. Nick Lugo drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on leadoff man Brent Cota's one-out right-sided groundout, and scored on CPP's first hit of the contest as Johnny Pappas sent an opposite-field RBI single into right center. The frame continued, Nin Burns II lining a hustle double also to the opposite field in right center, but he and Pappas were both stranded.

Reyes put up a fierce battle and came oh-so-close to registering a shutdown fourth, but Guerra's two-out, two-strike single up the middle did drive in Engman, who had doubled with one gone, for 3-1.

Opposite-field singles to right by right-handers Ben Lee and Tyler Chaffee sandwiched around a strikeout in the home fourth preceded a wild pitch that advanced both runners into scoring position. Lugo's second sacrifice fly of the year made it a one-run game again at 3-2.

Hartojo finally gave CSUMB some significant separation in the very next frame, the top of the fifth, hammering a three-run home run over the wall in left after a leadoff walk to Lindemann and wind-aided bloop single by Miguel. It was the shortstop's 11th long ball of 2023. Following a one-out Engman single and a move to the bullpen, Cole Murchison golfed a 3-1 toss out to right center for his fourth of the year and a tough-to-come-back-from 8-2 bulge.

Reyes (7-3) went 4.1 innings and allowed seven runs, one of them unearned, on seven hits and two walks. The senior right-hander and first-year transfer from Division III Occidental College struck out two. Reyes, the 2023 CCAA Most Valuable Pitcher, was also just Wednesday named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as its Division II West Region Pitcher of the Year.

Pappas was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI, while Lugo went 0-for-2 with a walk, run and RBI. Burns II finished 1-for-3 with two walks, two steals, and his 13th double of 2023, as the first-year centerfielder from Mt. SAC has hit for the cycle over the regional's first two days.

Drew D'Ambra struck out two in a scoreless sixth. The senior southpaw then got a 4-6-3 twin killing to get out of the seventh unscathed after a one-out double and single put Otters at the corners. The Broncos turned in a third double play, 1-4-3, to end the eighth. Sophomore lefty Edrian Rangel had taken over for D'Ambra, with the Pomona product then setting CSUMB down in order in the ninth. He fanned three.

Ryan Platero (7-0) gave up two runs on four hits and four walks for the Otters over 5.0 frames. The junior right-hander and All-CCAA second-teamer struck out five, with the first two wrapping a 1-2-3 second. Platero looked to be cruising in the fifth after his team's big rally in the top half, but got in trouble through back-to-back four-pitch walks and a double steal. He settled down to get Lee to ground out and kept it 8-2. Sophomore right-hander Aidan Lee posted a career-high six strikeouts over a season-long 3.1 innings of shutout relief.

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Bronco Bits

• CPP is 384-241 (.614) overall and 19-16 (.543) in its eighth NCAA Championship trip under 13th-year head coach Randy Betten.
• CPP is 12-14 away from home in 2023, 9-12 in true road dates, and 7-12 wearing its gold jerseys.
• Betten used the same batting order for the second game in a row.
• Caleb Reyes made his 13th mound appearance and 11th start as a Bronco.
• Nin Burns II swiped two bases for the third time this season, increasing his team-leading total to 18, on 18 attempts, which now have him in sole possession of second place in the CCAA.
• Burns II also drew multiple walks for the third time in 2023 (two), still leading the squad with 21.
• Brent Cota's four-pitch walk in the seventh extended his current team-best reached-base streak to 11 games.
• In its 15th all-time NCAA Championship appearance, CPP is 51-31 overall, 30-22 in West Regional action, 4-10 in true road dates, 2-1 against CSUMB, and 1-1 at the Otter Sports Complex.
• CPP leads 40-33 all-time in this series that dates back to 2006, with wins in four of the last six meetings, including a three-games-to-one victory in this year's regular-season set in Pomona back in March.
• The Broncos are 11-21 against the Otters in Seaside, 6-2 in postseason play, and 29-24 in the Betten era (9-15 in Seaside).

2023 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - WEST REGIONAL #1
HOSTED BY CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY - SEASIDE, CA

SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, MAY 18
Game 1 - #5 Cal Poly Pomona 5, #4 Point Loma 4
Game 2 - #1 Cal State Monterey Bay 11, #4 Point Loma 8 (Point Loma eliminated)

FRIDAY, MAY 19
Game 3 - #1 Cal State Monterey Bay 8, #5 Cal Poly Pomona 2

SATURDAY, MAY 20
Game 4 - #1 Cal State Monterey Bay vs. #5 Cal Poly Pomona, 12 p.m.
Game 5 - #1 Cal State Monterey Bay vs. #5 Cal Poly Pomona, 30 minutes after Game 4 (If Necessary)

2023 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - WEST REGIONAL #2
HOSTED BY CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO - SAN BERNARDINO, CA

SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, MAY 18
Game 1 - #3 Azusa Pacific 12, #6 Western Oregon 8
Game 2 - #2 Cal State San Bernardino 8, #6 Western Oregon 7 (Western Oregon eliminated)

FRIDAY, MAY 19
Game 3 - #2 Cal State San Bernardino 10, #3 Azusa Pacific 9

SATURDAY, MAY 20
Game 4 - #3 Azusa Pacific vs. #2 Cal State San Bernardino, 11 a.m.
Game 5 - #2 Cal State San Bernardino vs. #3 Azusa Pacific, 30 minutes after Game 4 (If Necessary)

2023 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - WEST SUPER REGIONAL
HOSTED BY HIGHEST REMAINING SEED - MAY 26-27
Winner of West Regional #1 vs. Winner of West Regional #2 (best-of-three series)

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.'

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