POMONA, Calif. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs baseball team comes up short in Saturday's double-header against California State Polytechnic University as the Broncos claim two one-run wins with an 8-7 final in both games.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: Game 1: UCCS 7, CPP 8 | Game 2: UCCS 7, CPP 8
Records: UCCS (1-2, 0-0 RMAC), CPP (2-1, 0-0 CCAA)
Location: Scolinos Field| Pomona, Calif.
All-Time Series: CPP evens up the all-time series with UCCS, 9-9.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME ONE
• Similar to game one, Cal Poly Pomona got the offense started early by plating four runs in the bottom of the second after recording three hits and drawing four walks off Brian Marquez. Two of those walks started the home half of the second as back-to-back singles brought in two runs as CPP brought in another two with a ball put in play up the middle and a single to make it 4-0 in favor of CPP.
• The following half-inning UCCS answered back with a run off the bat of Walker Rumsey who drove in Mason Pastorello with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-1.
• After the four-run second inning from the Broncos, Marquez powered through third and fourth innings by not allowing a hit to provide a clean start for reliever JJ Rytz to take over in the fifth.
• Cal Poly Pomona slowly chipped away at Rytz by tallying a single run in the fifth and sixth as the Broncos put up two more runs in the seventh. A pair of singles in combination with a throwing error and wild pitches increased the Mountain Lions deficit to six-runs, 7-1.
• Entering the top of the eighth with five hits and one run across for the game, the Mountain Lions faced a fresh arm in Andy Hurtado who was forced to take on two earned runs with three straight base hits to start the inning. Nate Heflebower singled to get the inning going as Kiichi Sato stepped up to send a double to the opposite field to setup runners on second and third for Aaron Faragallah. After watching a fastball in for a strike, Faragallah roped a single to right field for two RBI and to cut into the Broncos' lead, 7-3.
• In the ninth inning, the Mountain Lions kept the offensive momentum on their side as Mason Pastorello drew a walk to get the leadoff batter on as Heflebower got the bats going once again with an infield single. Just as he did the inning before, Sato dug in to rip a double down the right field line to score Pastorello and place runners in scoring position. Then for the second consecutive inning, Faragallah notched two RBI with a single to keep the inning alive with two outs. The base hits kept coming through with Brad Madison setting up Faragallah in scoring position by sending a single through the left side. For his first hit of the game, Stubbings came up big by doubling down the right field line to score one and bring the game within one-run, 7-6.
• But the Mountain Lions four-run ninth inning halted there as CPP's Eric Romo came in for the last out to seal the save and win.
 
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME ONE
• Starting pitcher Brian Marquez receives the loss after throwing four full innings where he registered four runs off three hits with seven walks.
• Aaron Faragallah swung his way to a 3-for-5 game with four RBI as tallied all four RBI in the final two innings.
• Kiichi Sato was a double machine as he finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
• The Mountain Lions outhit CPP 13-8 in the contest with three extra base hits as the Broncos walked away with two extra base hits.

HOW IT HAPPENED | GAME TWO
• The Broncos maintained the same trend in game two of the double-header as CPP struck first with one run in the first inning against Dylan Grierson as the series' first sac fly gave CPP an early 1-0 lead.
• The UCCS bats remained hot from game one as the Mountain Lion offense swung their way to their first lead of the day by tallying a three-run second inning. Caleb Stubbings flipped the field on the Broncos by recording another double but this time to the left center gap for the first RBI of the inning. As Matt Johnson notched the second RBI by putting a ball into play to score a runner from third, redshirt freshman Kasey Campbell laced an RBI single through the right side to help claim the 3-1 UCCS lead.
• After Grierson and the UCCS defense retired the side, the Mountain Lions added to their lead by way of the third Mountain Lion extra base hit in the next inning as Brad Madison registered an RBI double for an extended 4-1 lead.
• In the fifth inning, Cal Poly Pomona put up their second run of the ballgame after three innings of scoreless pitching from Grierson as a single and sac bunt against reliever Joseph Harris eventually setup a sac fly to bring the score back to 4-2 through five innings of play.
• With two innings left to play, the Mountain Lions went on the hunt for insurance runs and pinned down three of them as Madison got the sixth inning going with a single up the middle for his second hit of the game. Trying to get a run across the plate, Henry Ryan laid down a successful sacrifice bunt followed by Stubbings putting a groundball to the right side of the field to advance Madison to third with two outs. Coming up to the plate next was Matt Johnson as he answered the two-out call by singling to left field for one run across. Then with one swing of the bat, Campbell sent a deep ball down the left field line for a two-run home run to establish the five-run lead, 7-2.
• As the Mountain Lions needed three outs to split Saturday's double-header, Cal Poly Pomona quickly put that to rest as the Broncos erupted for a five-run inning to tie the game and send it to extra innings. CPP tallied two hits in the inning as four walks and an error elongated the inning and brought the game to a 7-7 tie ballgame in the bottom of the sixth.
• UCCS tried to keep their hopes alive by working runners into scoring position at second base in both the seventh and eighth innings, but the Mountain Lions came up short in both occasions as the game remained tied.
• In the bottom of the ninth, CPP started the inning off with a double and were successful in advancing the baserunner to third with a fly out to right field as the winning run stood 90 feet away. Then a Nick Lugo single sealed another 8-7 win for the Broncos as they swept the double-header.
 
STATS FROM THE GAME | GAME TWO
• Jon Sotto comes away with the loss in game two after three full innings and allowing two runs, one earned, while giving up three hits and three walks.
• Brad Madison finished the day 2-for-3 from the DH spot as he notched an RBI double and two runs scored.
• Kasey Campell also posted a 2-for-3 day after going yard and recording a game high three RBI.
• Matt Johnson came away with multiple RBI by going 1-for-3 on the day with a two-RBI single and scoring one run.
• UCCS came to also outhit the Broncos in game two, 10-6, as the Mountain Lions gave up a total of 11 walks to CPP's one on the mound.

UP NEXT:
The Mountain Lions will look to even up the series in game four tomorrow afternoon as UCCS takes on Cal Poly Pomona at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.