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Daniel Ruiz
Delanie Gearing
4
Winner Hope International HIU 6-5
1
Cal Poly Pomona CPP 5-3
Winner
Hope International HIU
6-5
4
Final
1
Cal Poly Pomona CPP
5-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Hope International HIU 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 4 8 1
Cal Poly Pomona CPP 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 0

W: Thrift, Jake (2-0) L: Leyva, Matthew (1-1) S: Williams, James (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Alex Kline, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications

Baseball Drops Series Opener Against Hope International

POMONA, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team battled Hope International in a tight series opener at Scolinos Field on Friday afternoon, ultimately falling 4-1. Despite a late rally, the Broncos were unable to overcome a strong pitching performance by the Royals, dropping their record to 5-3 to open the season.
 
Both squads locked into a pitching duel with neither team recording a run through the first six innings. Senior Dylan Esquival turned in yet another strong outing on the mound for the Green & Gold, going five scoreless innings and allowing just four hits while striking out six to keep the Broncos in the game. Through three starts in 2026, the Rancho Cucamonga native has a perfect 0.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts to just three walks, while also holding opponents to just nine hits.
 
In the seventh, Hope International broke through with a two-out double by Colby Moran to bring in two runs, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead. Cal Poly Pomona responded in the bottom half of the frame when Ashton Romero singled to left and reached second on an error by the left fielder. Justin Yeutter would then bring him home on an RBI groundout, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
 
The Broncos managed to strand multiple HIU runners in scoring position early, but timely hitting by Hope International extended the Royals' lead. In the eighth, an RBI single and a fielder's choice pushed the score to 4-1, a margin the Broncos weren't able to erase in the final two innings.
 
At the plate, Daniel Ruiz, Romero, Yeutter, and Daniel Luther each collected a hit, as the Broncos' four hits on the afternoon marks their fewest in a game this season. Cal Poly Pomona will look to rebound on Saturday as they continue their three-game series with Hope International.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos and Royals will face off tomorrow, February 14th, with a 2:00 PM game in Fullerton. The two teams will then conclude the series back at Scolinos Field on Sunday at 12:00 PM.
 
 
Bronco Bits
  • The Broncos are 1-2 all-time against Hope International since their first official meeting in 2019.
  • Randy Betten is now 436-303 (.590) as head coach of the Broncos.
  • As a program, Cal Poly Pomona is now 1,773-1,588-21 in its 66th season overall, including 926-589-14 (.610) in home games.
  • The last time the team was 5-3 to start the season was 2022.
  • The team's .980 fielding percentage currently leads the CCAA.
  • It was announced that assistant coach Jimmy Ramos would be inducted into the Cal Poly Pomona Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday afternoon. Ramos, now in his 42nd season with the program, has coached in 2,220 games at CPP – the most games of any coach in department history.