Box Scores: Game 1 / Postponed Game 2
By Sean Leahy
BroncoAthletics.com
POMONA, Calif. - Behind a strong start by right-hander
Casey Yokubaitis and balanced hitting from the Broncos' lineup, the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team secured an 8-1 win Friday morning against Chico State to start conference play.
In the second half of the day's doubleheader, CPP trailed the Wildcats 6-0 before rain suspended play going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The two teams will resume play Saturday at 11 a.m. before moving on to their scheduled nine-inning contests.
Currently, the Broncos hold a 7-0 overall record. CSUC, ranked No. 19 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) 2011 Division II Preseason Poll, carries a 2-1 mark during the young 2011 campaign.
Game 1: CPP 8, CSUC 1
Yokubaitis aimed to continue the Broncos', as well as his own, hot start into conference play as he took the mound Friday morning against the Wildcats. The senior starter was able to stand up to the task as he tossed seven dazzling innings, giving up just one run and scattering five hits along the the way to improving his record to 2-0 for the season.
He kept the CSUC hitters off balance with a heavy amount of offspeed pitches.
“We made sure to stick with offspeed stuff today," Yokubaitis said. "The changeup was a pretty big part of our repertoire. I just wanted to get contact in the first three pitches. That way, my defense can stay on their toes and react to plays.”
CPP's offense struck early against CSUC starter Brian Buckham, with
Travis Taijeron, who went 2-for-3 in the game, leading off the second inning with his second homerun of the season - a mammoth shot over the centerfield fence.
Jordan Whitman would later double in the inning with two outs and be driven in by
Humberto Tovalin, making the score 2-0 in favor of the Broncos.
The scoreboard wouldn't see any more action until the sixth inning. The Wildcats would make their biggest threat of the game in the top of the inning. With one out, Matt Anderson and Jackson Evans would both single.
After an infield popup by Justin Manci, designated hitter Dillon Usiak would bring Anderson home with a single to right field, with he and Evans advancing to second and third respectively on the throw to the plate. However, Yokubaitis would leave CSUC disappointed, as Adrian Bringas would fly out to right field to end the inning.
After keeping the game close through five innings, the game would get out of hand for the Wildcats in the sixth. The Broncos would plate six runs in the inning to extend their once slim lead to seven runs. Buckham started the inning by giving up three straight singles to
Ryan Goodman,
Mike Santora, and
Jenzen Torres. Goodman, scored on the single by Torres.
The southpaw wouldn't be able to stop the bleeding, as he gave up back-to-back walks to Taijeron and
Chris Miller to score Goodman. After an RBI sacrifice fly by
Tyson Edwards, Buckham's day would be done as Bryn Calhoun would come in for relief. However, Tovalin would strike again for the Broncos as he drove in two more runs with a single to right, giving him three RBI's for the game. CPP would add one more run on a suicide squeeze by
Joseph Eusebio.
After pitching a scoreless seventh, Yokubaitis would hand the ball over to junior lefthander
Shane Philipps, who proceeded to pitch two scoreless innings of relief to end the game.
Game 2: CSUC 6, CPP 0 (Postponed)
The Broncos were battling the weather and themselves in the second game of the doubleheader.
Junior right-hander
Geoff Broussard got the call in game two, as CPP eyed a sweep in Friday's contests. The Broncos would find themselves in a hole early, as CSUC would put two on the board in each the second and third innings.
Broussard allowed the first two men two reach base to start the second. An error by Miller allowed Bringas to score. Ben Manlove then drove in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to center. The righty from Rancho Cucamonga managed to hold the Wildcats to just those two unearned runs in the inning, but trouble would come again in the third.
CSUC outfielder Ian McKay would lead off the next inning with a fly ball that just seemed to carry over the rightfield fence for a solo shot. The Wildcats would tack on another run to make the lead 4-0.
Broussard wouldn't come in for another inning. He would finish the day with three innings pitched, giving up four runs.
Sophomore right-hander
Erick Ruvalcaba would come in to the game to relieve Broussard in the fourth. He managed to slow down the Wildcat offense, giving up just two runs over four innings.
After scoring eight runs in the first game, CPP has been held scoreless so far in this match.
CSUC starter Ryan O'Shea pitched an impressive six innings, limiting the Broncos to just two hits, while striking out six.
Rain started to pour over Scolinos Field in the seventh inning, and got so bad that the game had to be postponed to start the eighth. The contest will resume on Saturday at 11 a.m. and will be followed by another nine-inning game.
