SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – No. 5 seed Cal State San Bernardino used a late two-run rally Thursday afternoon to defeat No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona 3-1 at the CCAA Baseball Tournament at Fiscalini Field.
With the win, the Coyotes advance to Saturday’s championship round and await the winner of Friday evening’s elimination game between No. 2 seed Cal State San Marcos and Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos remain alive in the tournament and will face the Cougars in Game 6 at 7 p.m. Friday.
Both teams traded scoreless innings early as starting pitchers Anthony Vasquez and Kailer Saunders settled into a tightly contested pitchers’ duel. Cal Poly Pomona threatened in the opening inning after Jack Sanders singled and stole second, but Saunders escaped the frame unscathed.
The Broncos broke through first in the fourth inning.
After Julian Angulo grounded out to begin the inning, Sebastian Arguelles crushed a solo home run to left field to give Pomona a 1-0 lead. Bryan Richman and Tyler Blade followed with back-to-back singles later in the frame, but Saunders stranded both runners to keep the deficit at one.
Vasquez continued to frustrate the Coyotes lineup through the middle innings despite constant traffic on the bases. The Pomona right-hander allowed five hits and five walks across six innings while limiting San Bernardino to just one run.
The Coyotes finally evened the score in the sixth.
Keedan Nadeau worked a leadoff walk and later stole second before Jeremy Giesegh lined an RBI single to left field, tying the game at 1-1. Vasquez minimized further damage by retiring Greg Luna to end the inning.
The decisive rally came two innings later against Broncos reliever Matt Lorenzano.
Noah Betanco opened the inning after being hit by a pitch before Giesegh singled to left-center to put two runners aboard. Following a flyout that moved Betanco to third, Benji Solano delivered an RBI single to score the go-ahead run and give the Coyotes a 2-1 advantage. Eddie Alfaro then drew a walk to load the bases, and Dom Dominguez followed with another walk to force home an insurance run and extend the lead to 3-1.
Saunders finished the job from there.
The Coyotes ace tossed a complete game to earn the victory, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out three over nine innings. Saunders retired the final two batters in the ninth after Cal Poly Pomona brought the tying run to the plate, sealing the win and sending San Bernardino into Saturday’s championship matchup.
Game 6 between Cal State San Marcos and Cal Poly Pomona is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to face the Coyotes on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the championship game.