By Christian Magdaleno, Feb. 4, 2025
With the season set to begin, Cal Poly Pomona baseball welcomed its alumni back for its annual preseason CPP Alumni Game at Scolinos Field Jan. 25.
The Broncos, current and former packed the dugouts once more in this friendly rivalry game, but the nostalgia was quickly snuffed out by the current Broncos, walking away with a 9-1 victory.
Senior leadoff hitter and catcher/outfielder Johnny Pappas cracked open the game for his team with a triple to right field that sent the alumni chasing after him.
The game did not slow down for the Broncos, as junior outfielder Dominic Porter kept the ball moving, slotting one down the left-field line to bring in Pappas for the first run of the game.
The Broncos continued to work their way through the lineup, walking away with 4 runs in the first inning.
Pappas expressed his appreciation for playing in this preseason tradition and for the support from his former Broncos.
“It’s always a lot of fun to compete against a lot of these guys that we played with last year and then seeing some of the guys from the 1983 national championship team out here, so it’s cool to see that this program means a lot to a lot of people,” said Pappas. “I also got some good swings off, and a good one off of coach Anthony Mizrahi.”
Assistant coach and 2019 alumnus Mizrahi reclaimed the mound to pitch against the 2025 team.
2024 alumnus Nick Lugo hit a single to centerfield to notch the first hit for the alumni. Ultimately, the top of the inning remained scoreless for them as sophomore right-handed pitcher Anthony Vasquez dominated on the mound.
The alumni team’s bats remained dormant throughout the second inning, which allowed Pappas to make his second appearance in the batter’s box shortly afterward. Pappas sent another ball flying to the outfield, with this one bouncing off the left-field wall.
The Broncos turned this inning into batting practice, as they cycled through their lineup to collect a 6-0 lead.
Alex Kline, the current assistant athletics director of communications and former Broncos catcher from 2015 to 2019 donned his gear as one of the alumni guarding home plate. The two-time Division II National Collegiate Athletic Association West-Regional champion detailed his experience coming back onto the field.
“I was actually surprised with how well I caught today,” said Kline. “Catching actually came back pretty naturally, so it was nice to put on the gear again and get to play with all the teammates I have not seen in a few years, a lot since before COVID-19. It’s cool reconnecting with them and seeing where they are at in life.”
Kline also highlighted his fellow alumni teammates Noel Soto and Cesar Lopez. Soto was a right-handed pitcher from 2021 to 2023, and Lopez was an outfielder from 2018 to 2022.
Although the Broncos continued to rack up runs throughout the game, the alumni did not go down without a fight as Lopez hit a double to bring a run in during the third inning — recording the alumni’s singular run of the game — and held the Broncos scoreless through the fourth and fifth innings.
The Broncos left the game with a 9-1 victory over their former teammates and counterparts.
Broncos head coach Randy Betten expressed his gratitude for the former Broncos who made their appearances at Scolinos Field.
“I hope the guys see that they are really good players over there, and they still have the ability to play and a joy for competing,” said Betten. “It’s always fun to play them and catch up to see where they are after the game of baseball.”
One Broncos legend who made his appearance back on the mound was J.J. Franklin. Franklin played from 2012 to 2015 and is the all-time saves leader (19) and holds the third-place record for most pitching appearances (73).
Franklin closed out the ninth inning with a strikeout on the last batter. Although he did not manage to add another save to his record, Franklin joked he could add this to his post-college stats.
Franklin expressed his gratitude to the coaching staff and players for maintaining the quality of the field, stating the field “was always one of the best in the CCAA.”
Feature image courtesy of Christian Magdaleno
