Pair of former Rubidoux HS stars
key Cal Poly Pomona victory
POMONA ¾ It was quite a day for former Rubidoux High School players.
Matt Stevens (Fr., Riverside, Rubidoux HS) and Ricky Wooten (So., Riverside, Rubidoux HS) were two of the stars in Cal Poly Pomona’s 2-1 victory over Mesa State Friday afternoon at Scolinos Field. Stevens drove in both Cal Poly Pomona runs and threw out a Mesa State runner trying to score, while Wooten pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his second save of the season.
Cal Poly Pomona (4-1-1), which had been winning games because of a potent offense, relied on pitching and defense in Friday’s victory. The Broncos got eight strong innings from David Krisch (Sr., El Cajon, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) and some timely hitting from Stevens to remain unbeaten in their last five games.
The Broncos managed only four hits against Mesa State pitchers Bryan King and Dan DePorte, but two of those were run-scoring singles by Stevens. The freshman outfielder singled in Brian Ziarnick (Jr., Chino, Fullerton CC) to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead in the first inning and then singled home Jose Munoz (Jr., Baldwin Park, Rio Hondo JC) with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Mesa State (2-3) had tied the game in the top of the eighth on a run-scoring single by Brandon Halcomb. King had a superb start for the Mavericks, allowing only two hits and one run in seven strong innings.
Cal Poly Pomona opened the scoring in the first inning. Ziarnick drew a walk and took second when Jason Marcus (Sr., San Dimas, Mt. SAC) was hit by a pitch. Stevens then lined a single to right field to score Ziarnick.
Krisch and King matched zeroes until the Mavericks broke through for a run in the eighth. Deke DeCrow doubled with two out and Halcomb followed with a single to score pinch runner Clifton Arakaki.
The Broncos, though, responded with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Munoz reached on an error and moved to second on a single by Anthony Gonzales (Jr., Whittier, Santa Ana JC). Stevens then slapped a 2-2 pitch into centerfield to score Munoz with the winning run.
Wooten allowed a one-out single in the ninth, but retired the next two Mesa State batters without a problem.
The Broncos return to action Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. game against Mesa State and then battle CCAA rival UC Davis in a 2 p.m. nonconference game.