By Cesar Rivas, April 16, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona’s baseball team looked to keep the ball rolling as they enter the second half of the season, while taking on the San Francisco State Gators March 28 and March 29.
The Broncos entered the series with an 8-8 conference record, while the Gators were in the top three of the conference standings with a 13-7 record. A combined team effort from the Broncos guided them to a 3-1 series win.
“I was happy with that series win,” said head coach Randy Betten. “I was happy with the way we pitched, I liked the way we swung the bat, so all in all, I was happy with the weekend.”
San Francisco State started the game with a quick two outs before drawing two consecutive walks. Then, Gator right fielder Daniel Santos’ base hit up the middle drove in a run, giving the Gators a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
The Broncos responded quickly as a one-out triple by left fielder Jack Sanders and a walk to right fielder Anthony Gibbons put runners on the corners. This gave way for third baseman Tyler Chaffee to smash a ball over the fence in left-center field, while ahead in the count 3-1, putting the Broncos up 3-1.
“Early in the count I’m trying to get a good pitch to hit,” said Chaffee. “I’m just trying to keep it simple out there.”
CPP added on to its lead in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run to left field by second baseman Beau Betten. After drawing consecutive walks, Sanders hit a double to left driving in another run, while Gibbons hit a sac-fly to left field, bringing the score to 6-1 after four innings.
A combination of hits and walks added to the Broncos lead with a sac-fly from center fielder Brent Cota and another hit from Sanders bringing the score to 8-1 in favor of the Broncos. More consistent hitting from shortstop Nick Lugo and catcher Johnny Pappas and three more runs in the sixth ultimately gave the Broncos an 11-1 lead.
Ace Caleb Reyes gave up just six hits and only one run through seven innings of work, and Carlo Flores saw the game out without allowing a hit in the final two innings giving the Broncos a 11-1 win, and a series lead of 1-0.
Game two was a pitching showdown as neither side converted any runs through five innings of play.
In the sixth inning, the Gators capitalized on a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity as first baseman Matt Sugden hit a sac-fly to left field, putting San Francisco State in the lead 1-0 in the sixth inning.
There was more silence in the box score until the ninth inning when a combination of hits from the Gators and fielding errors from the Broncos extended the Gator lead to 5-0.
The Broncos showed some life in the bottom half of the inning with a lead-off double down the left field line by Gibbons, and Chaffee bringing him home with a single to right field, lowering the deficit to only four runs.
CPP could not convert for the rest of the inning as the Gators earned three consecutive outs, making the final score 5-1 and evening the series at one apiece.
Coach Betten expressed the importance of the team minimizing errors.
“We have to find a way to limit that one big inning or that one big mistake game, and take care of that a little bit better,” said Randy Betten.
Game three came down to the wire as the Broncos were able to put a couple of runs on the board early.
In the second inning designated hitter Julian Angulo drew a leadoff walk and Chaffee advanced the runner with a double down the leftfield line. With runners on second and third, back-to-back sac-flies from first baseman Marco Malerba and Lugo gave the Broncos a 2-0 lead through two innings.
Starting pitcher Evan Adolphus continued to shut down the Gator offense allowing only two hits and delivering four strikeouts through six innings pitched.
“We know they’re working there, and they’re ready, and they’re prepared for this opportunity,” said Randy Betten about the Broncos pitching staff. “We’re going to rely on them as the season goes, but for this weekend, we just didn’t need to as much.”
The Gators refused to concede, as in a bases loaded situation, shortstop Armando Murillo grounded out into a fielder’s choice driving in a run. Immediately after, second baseman Jacob French’s single back up the middle tied the game at 2-2 through seven innings.
The game searched for a hero with the score all tied up. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth Cota sent a ball over the fence in right field to give the Broncos the lead headed into the ninth, Chris Fields secured the save sealing the Broncos win.
The final game of the series would be played to seven innings and saw the Gators open up the scoring. With the bases loaded, third baseman Justin Johnson hit a sac-fly to right field driving in a run. Designated hitter Derek Laferriere’s single to left brought the lead to 2-0 after the first inning.
The Broncos responded quickly in the second inning with consecutive one-out hits by Chaffee and Malerba, leading the way for Lugo to drive in a run with a fielder’s choice. The runs would continue in the third courtesy of an Angulo single down the leftfield line which drove in an additional run, tying the game at 2-2 after three innings.
The Broncos offense kept the runs coming, and a rally of hits within the fifth inning tacked on two runs giving them a 4-2 lead. The attack continued in the sixth with multiple Broncos driving in runs with extra-base hits bringing the score to 8-2.
“It’s definitely a momentum thing when the whole lineup’s clicking, when we’re all confident in the box, I think we’re one of the best teams in the nation,” said Chaffee.
With runners on, the Gators scored one more consolation run in the seventh before the Broncos got the final out, winning the game 8-3, and winning the series 3-1.
After the series win, the Broncos now sit at 11-9 in conference play, finally putting them with an above .500 winning percentage.
“We just got to play our brand and baseball that we hold ourselves to it,” said Chaffee. “At the end of the year, we want to be in the running for a national championship, so I think if we just keep staying with that caliber of baseball, nobody could stop us.”
Since the series against San Francisco, the Broncos have played two more series against conference opponents, sweeping Stanislaus State in a pair of doubleheaders April 6 and April 7 and winning two of the first three games against Cal State San Marcos before game four was delayed due to the rain. CPP will carry it’s 21-15 overall record into its next series against Cal State LA starting April 19.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
