SAN FRANCISCO – Senior catcher Johnny Pappas made history on Saturday afternoon, breaking the Cal Poly Pomona all-time runs scored record with his 169^th career run. Pappas, a local Chino Hills native, passed Tom Weeks' (1984-87) mark of 168 runs scored in a Bronco uniform – a record that had stood for 38 years.
 
"Breaking this record will be one of the top accomplishments of my career," said Pappas following the game. "It's a great feeling to know that I was able to accomplish such a tremendous feat in my time at Cal Poly Pomona. Looking back on my career as a whole, this achievement will be one I hold onto forever."
 
Since coming to campus in the fall of 2019, Pappas has become one of the more decorated players in recent memory for the program. Among his many accolades, some of the most notable include being a 3x All-CCAA honoree,  2x All-West Region honoree, and was named the first-ever Cal Poly Pomona Male Iron Bronco last spring.
 
"To watch Pappas mature as a player has been awesome," said head coach Randy Betten. "Each year he has improved some part of his offensive game, and he works very hard to be the best hitter he can be on a daily basis. He has true passion for the game of baseball and his teammates see it every day. He's a championship player and person, and a true Bronco!"
 
In addition to the accolades, the senior ranks Top 10 in program history in nearly every offensive category, including games played, games started, at-bats, hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, total bases, walks, hit by pitch, and of course, runs scored.
 
"Before I even stepped foot on campus, I knew I wanted to be one of the best players to ever step foot on Scolinos Field," added Pappas. "Knowing the history of the program, and seeing the tremendous players in the record book with me, I hope that I've left a legacy where the players who put on the number "2" jersey will all know that Johnny Pappas wore this number when he played, and they'll be inspired to give their all to the program as I have."
 
Pappas scored his first career run against UC Colorado Springs back on February 8^th, 2020. With the freshman catcher on second base, a single to left field drove him in for the first time. Fast forward 1,890 days to today (thanks in part to a few delayed seasons from COVID), and Pappas once again found himself standing on second base.
 
In a situation eerily similar to his first run, Julian Angulo knocked a single into left field, once again scoring Pappas from second – this time to break the all-time program record. Coincidentally, both of those innings started off with a leadoff foul-out, followed by three consecutive singles to score Pappas.
 
"Coming into the dugout and seeing all of my teammates smiling is something I'll remember for the rest of my life," continued Pappas. "We all knew that I had tied it at home against Stanislaus, so every time I was on base this series the whole team was ready for me to score. So to finally do it, and see everyone just as excited as me, was amazing and something I'll remember forever."
 
Despite the exciting milestone for Pappas, the Broncos dropped both games of Saturday's twin bill in San Francisco, their record falling to 13-27 overall and 10-21 in conference play.
 
 
Game 1: CPP 4, SFSU 5
After falling behind 1–0 through five innings, the Broncos' bats came alive in the sixth. Pappas led the charge with his third hit of the day, sparking a two-run frame capped by RBI singles from Julian Angulo and Robbie Treto. Clay Porter then came through with a two-run homer in the seventh—his second of the season—putting CPP ahead 4–3.
 
Despite solid work from starting pitcher Dylan Esquival and reliever Evan Adolphus, San Francisco State capitalized on a costly two-out error in the eighth to tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, the Gators drew three walks (two intentional) to load the bases, and pushed across the winning run on a fourth walk to end the game. Colt Tucker took the loss, falling to 0-2 on the season.
 
 
Game 2: CPP 3, SFSU 13
Cal Poly Pomona couldn't slow down a relentless San Francisco State offense in the second game of the doubleheader, falling 13-3 at Maloney Field.
 
After a quiet first inning, the Gators surged ahead with two runs in the second and broke things open in the third, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple to put them ahead 5-0. The Broncos found a spark in the fourth when Brent Cota launched a three-run homer to right field, the 10^th of his career, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
 
However, the momentum was short-lived. San Francisco State responded with six runs in the fifth, including a grand slam, and tacked on another in the sixth to seal the game.
 
Anthony Vasquez (1-3) took the loss for the Broncos, allowing 10 earned runs over 4.2 innings. Vasquez now ranks third on the team with 38 strikeouts, including six in each of his past three starts. CPP managed six hits in the game, with Treto collecting two and Pappas collecting the lone extra base hit with a double.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos look to avoid the series sweep against San Francisco State tomorrow, April 13^th, with first pitch set for 12:00 PM.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 77-46 all-time against San Francisco State, including 5-5 in their past 10 games.
• Randy Betten is now 429-293 (.594) as head coach of the Broncos and 306-213 (.590) in CCAA play.
• Betten remains 18 CCAA wins away from tying John Scolinos (324) for the most in program history.
• The Broncos have the fifth-toughest strength of schedule in all of NCAA Division II, with their opponents going 625-410 (.604) entering the weekend.
• Pappas is the seventh player in program history to appear in 200 games for the Broncos, as he now sits sixth all-time in games played with 202. He also ranks third all-time in games started with 199.