POMONA, Calif. – The CSUSB baseball team fell short in the series opener at Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday afternoon, falling to 19-5 on the season and 10-4 in CCAA play.
 
The Broncos, who had been nationally-ranked for the first month of the season, took an early 2-0 lead by the third inning. With both teams moving quickly, the game made it through the first seven innings in just an hour and a half.
 
In the top of the eighth inning, the Yotes' offense began to make some noise. Matt Gonzales led off the inning with a single through the left side, making him the only player to collect multiple hits in the game. With the bases loaded and no outs, Giovanni Del Negro hit a clutch double down the left field line to score two runs and even the game at 2-2. Despite having two runners in scoring position with no outs, CSUSB was unable to cash in any further, stranding those runners on base and leaving the game tied.
 
Two more scoreless frames brought CPP to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the game still tied at 2-2. With one out and a runner on second, a ground ball snuck through the middle allowing the winning run to score.
 
CSUSB's starting pitcher Luke Hempel delivered a quality start for the Yotes, throwing 7.0 innings while only allowing two earned runs on seven hits. The junior leads the team in innings pitched this season, having thrown 36.2 in seven starts.
 
 
Up Next
The Yotes and Broncos will play a doubleheader on Sunday, March 26^th, with the first game set for 2:00 PM. You can catch the action on the CCAA Network at ccaanetwork.com.

To see the full CSUSB baseball schedule, click HERE.
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