POMONA, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos fought valiantly in a high-scoring thriller at Scolinos Field on Friday night, but ultimately fell just short, losing 13-12 to Cal State LA in the series opener. With the loss, the Broncos fall to 8-18 overall and 5-12 in CCAA play while painfully wearing their seventh one-run loss of the season.
 
The night began with both squads getting on the scoreboard in the first inning. After Cal State LA took an early lead, the Broncos quickly responded with a sacrifice fly from Brent Cota to bring home Johnny Pappas, tying the game at 1-1. However, the Golden Eagles would put up four runs in the second inning, highlighted by six hits to give LA a 5-1 lead.
 
Cal Poly Pomona found itself in a deep hole after Cal State LA scored four runs in the fourth, extending their lead to 9-1. The Broncos, however, chipped away in the bottom of the fourth when Marco Malerba reached on an error by the left fielder, allowing two unearned runs to score. Julian Angulo immediately followed with his fourth home run of the season deep over the trees in left field, cutting the deficit to 9-5.
 
Despite another two-run homer by Cal State LA in the fifth, the Broncos continued their rally in the sixth. Johnny Pappas blasted a two-run homer to center field, followed by an RBI single from Anthony Gibbons, bringing the score to 13-8. In the seventh, Cal Poly Pomona capitalized on a wild pitch to bring another run across, making it a 13-9 game.
 
The Broncos made their biggest push in the eighth inning. Gibbons doubled down the left field line, scoring Malerba. Then, Robbie Treto delivered a clutch two-RBI single to right field, bringing the Broncos within one at 13-12. With momentum on their side, Cal Poly Pomona threatened to complete the comeback, but Cal State LA's bullpen held firm, stranding both the tying and go ahead runs on base. The Broncos would go scoreless in the ninth, sealing the win for LA.
 
Despite the loss, the Broncos had an impressive offensive performance, tallying 16 hits. Gibbons was the player of the game for CPP, going a perfect 5-for-5 with two RBI and an intentional walk. Had Gibbons not been intentionally walked in the bottom of the ninth, he would have had a chance to become just the fourth player in school history to record six hits in a single game.
 
Angulo, Pappas, and Treto each contributed two RBI as well, helping fuel the comeback effort. Leadoff hitter Beau Betten recorded just two at-bats in the high scoring game, due to being hit by a pitch in three separate plate appearances. His 30 career hit by pitches now ranks fifth-most in school history - in just 76 career games played for the Broncos.
 
On the mound, starting pitcher Anthony Cosme (1-4) struggled to silence the Golden Eagles' bats, allowing 12 earned runs over five innings on 77 pitches. Sean Suriyaniel had an impressive performance out of the pen and allowed the Broncos to stay in the game, surrendering just one earned run in 3.0 innings. Colt Tucker threw a scoreless ninth, striking out three of the four batters he faced.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos will face Cal State LA in a doubleheader tomorrow, March 22nd, with first pitch set for 2:00 PM.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 124-114 all-time against Cal State LA, including 7-3 in their past 10 games.
• Randy Betten is now 424-284 (.599) as head coach of the Broncos and 301-204 (.596) in CCAA play.
• Betten remains 23 CCAA wins away from tying John Scolinos (324) for the most in program history.
• The Broncos have the toughest strength of schedule in all of NCAA Division II, with their opponents going 311-136 (.696) entering the weekend.
• With 26 games played and 49 on the schedule, the team has officially passed the halfway mark of the season.
• Friday's game was Associate Head Coach Jenzen Torres' 600th game as a member of the CPP coaching staff. In that time, the Broncos have a 357-243 (.595) record.
• Record Watch – Johnny Pappas scored two more runs on Friday, bringing his career total to 162. Tom Weeks (1984-87) currently holds the program record at 168.