Cal Poly Pomona Athletics

TURLOCK, Calif. – Cal Poly Pomona baseball dropped a tough doubleheader in Turlock on Saturday, falling to 16-9 on the season and 8-3 in conference play. Despite taking two losses, the Broncos remain one of just two teams with a conference winning percentage above .700, the other being Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
Game 1: CPP 7, STAN 12
Cal Poly Pomona built an early lead but could not withstand a pivotal middle-inning surge in the first game of the doubleheader, falling 12-7. The Broncos struck first in the opening frame, as Tyler Blade delivered an RBI single to score Austin Duarte to go up 1-0. Pomona added another run in the fourth, capitalizing on pressure and a Warrior error to extend the lead to 2-1.
 
The offense plated three more in the top of the sixth with two timely hits off the bats of Duarte and Bryan Richman, retaking the lead at 5-3. Jack Sanders would finish the offensive effort with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, his ninth of the season, to keep the Broncos in the game.
 
However, a disastrous sixth inning saw seven runs score on five hits for the Warriors, as they were able to flip a 5-3 deficit into a 10-5 advantage by the end of the inning.
 
Starting pitcher Matthew Leyva was effective through five innings, striking out six while limiting just two earned runs to keep the Green & Gold in control. The Bronco bullpen struggled to stop the Stanislaus bats, allowing nine earned runs in the final three innings.  
 
Game 2: CPP 4, STAN 5 (9 innings)
Cal Poly Pomona jumped out to an early lead, but could not hold off Stanislaus State late, falling 5-4 in the second game of Saturday's CCAA doubleheader at Warrior Baseball Field.
 
Once again, the Broncos struck first in the top of the first as Jack Sanders ripped a triple to right center field and later scored, while Julian Angulo added an RBI groundout to give Pomona a 2-0 lead.
 
Sanders led the way offensively, finishing 2-for-3 in the game with a triple, RBI, and run scored, while Angulo drove in three runs in the nightcap. Tyler Blade added two hits, and Diego Murillo scored twice as the Broncos collected eight hits overall.
 
After the Warriors answered with three runs in the bottom of the first, Pomona chipped away, tying the game with a run in the fifth on Angulo's sacrifice fly and reclaiming momentum with another Angulo RBI in the seventh.
 
On the mound, Anthony Vasquez delivered a strong outing, tossing six innings while allowing three runs (zero earned) and striking out six on 94 pitches. The difference came in the late innings, as Stanislaus pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch to send it into extras, and another run in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off and take both games of the doubleheader.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos and Warriors will conclude their series tomorrow, March 22^nd, at 12:00 PM.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are 71-41-1 all-time against Stanislaus State, including 7-3 in their past 10 games. They are 36-20 on the road and 61-38-1 in conference against the Warriors.
• Randy Betten is now 447-309 (.591) as head coach of the Broncos and 316-223 (.586) in CCAA play. Betten is just 14 CCAA wins shy of passing legendary coach John Scolinos for most in program history (329).
• As a program, Cal Poly Pomona is now 1,784-1,594-21 in its 66th season overall, including 957-841-4 in CCAA play.
• The last time the team was 16-9 to start the season was 2023.
• The Broncos are second in the CCAA in stolen bases (41) and second in fielding percentage (.974).
• The pitching staff has issued the second-fewest walks in the CCAA this season with 90.