POMONA, Calif. – After narrowly missing a spot at the NCAA Division II Championships last year, the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team will get another crack at it starting Friday.

The Broncos, ranked 29th nationally, start their 2012 season this week at Scolinos Field. A four-game series against Saint Martin's of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) begins a stretch of eight non-conference contests for CPP. From there, the Broncos begin their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule.

CPP will take on the Saints of SMU in Friday's season opener, which will begin at 2 p.m. The two teams resume the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. The series between the Broncos and Saints concludes with a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m.

In 2011, CPP reached the West Region title game in the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993. The Broncos finished the season 36-23 overall.

Head coach Randy Betten enters his second season with the CPP program and his 2012 roster features plenty of returners, including top hurlers Kevin Bosson, Geoff Broussard and Erick Ruvalcaba, along with strength up the middle in catcher Jenzen Torres, shortstop Mike Santora and centerfielder Jordan Whitman.

The Broncos' first opponent of 2012 - the Saints of SMU - also had a breakout campaign in 2011. The Saints completed the year with marks of 25-22 overall and 21-11 in GNAC action. Senior lefty Thomas DeBoer, having thrown 64 innings with a 2.67 earned run average last season, leads the SMU pitching staff into 2012.

Familiar Foe
The Broncos and Saints have become somewhat regular opponents in the past few years, with CPP holding an 8-2 lead in the all-time series. In 2011, the Broncos swept the teams' two-game series. In the first game, Santora delivered key hits while Ryan Dunn threw five solid innings to pick up the win. During the second half of the doubleheader, Chris Miller and Whitman helped carry the offense while the Broncos' bullpen secured the victory.

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Around the CCAA
The first game of the 2012 season for any CCAA team takes place on Wednesday when Cal State L.A. travels to play Cal Baptist. That is just one of a number of intriguing first-week matchups. Cal State San Bernardino goes up against Azusa Pacific and two NCAA West Region Tournament participants - UC San Diego and Western Oregon - will battle it out in La Jolla over the weekend.

Ranking Variety
Last month, the Broncos earned the No. 16 national spot and No. 1 regional spot in the College Baseball Lineup Top 30 preseason poll. Around that same time, CPP was featured at No. 29 nationally and No. 2 regionally for the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper rankings.

After a recent vote of the leagues' coaches, the Broncos have been tabbed to finish fourth in the CCAA. That would mark an identical finish to how the 2011 season played out.

Record-Setting Gift
In early January, CPP alum Danny Andrews announced his record-setting pledge of $400,000 to the baseball stadium project. It is the largest single gift ever to the Broncos' athletics department, topping the previous mark – also delivered by Andrews – set at $105,000.

The baseball stadium project, costing roughly $7 million, will bring a wide range of benefits to the university, community and athletics department. With the plan unfolding in phases, the completed project will include permanent seating, lighting, clubhouse, game-quality fan facilities and other modern amenities.

Projected Pitching Matchups (2011 Statistics Listed)
Friday: Geoff Broussard (2-1, 3.02) vs. Tommy DeBoer (5-3, 2.67)
Saturday: Ryan Dunn (4-2, 3.62) vs. Nate O'Bryan (5-3, 3.22)
Saturday: Kevin Bosson (10-5, 3.83) vs. Kaleb Wilson (2-3, 4.42)
Sunday: J.J. Franklin vs. Sean Goforth (0-2, 6.75)