SPORTSCOPE : Cal Poly Pomona Baseball Team Can Clinch CCAA Title

The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team plays rival UC Riverside in a three-game series starting today at Riverside.

The Broncos will enter the game in first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and Riverside is one of Pomona’s closest pursuers. The Broncos (26-24 overall, 17-10 in CCAA play) are ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II by Collegiate Baseball magazine.

Riverside, ranked No. 19, is 1 1/2 games behind at 28-22-1 and 15-11. Riverside is tied for second with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The Broncos can clinch at least a tie for the conference title by winning two of the three games against Riverside and a sweep of the series would give them the conference title outright. The first game is at 3 p.m. today and the teams will also play at 3 p.m. Friday at Scolinos Field in Pomona and at 1 p.m. Saturday at Riverside.

The Broncos swept a three-series from Chapman last week at Orange. The victories improved the team’s road record to 8-19. The Broncos are 18-5 at home.

Senior outfielder Ramiro Garcia, who ranks among the conference leaders with a .381 batting average, and junior outfielder Chris Hunt at .333, have been Pomona’s offensive leaders. The team’s top starting pitcher has been junior Dan Mead (7-3) and senior reliever Geoff Johansen has a team-leading 2.81 earned-run average.

The top two teams in the conference are expected to receive berths in the Division II playoffs that start next week. The teams and pairings will be determined Sunday.

Azusa Pacific will be the top-seeded team when it plays host to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 baseball championships today through Saturday.

The Cougars (29-11) play their opening game in the double-elimination tournament against fourth-seeded Cal Baptist (27-17) at 3 p.m. today. Cal Baptist qualified for the tournament with a 4-1 victory over Southern California College on Monday.

In the other opening game, The Master’s (23-18) will meet Christ College Irvine (28-15) at 11 a.m. today.

Elimination games will continue through Friday and the title game is Saturday. The district champion will host the NAIA area championships from May 16-18.

Azusa Pacific has been one of the top offensive teams in the district with a .325 batting average. The leaders are third baseman Reuben Granados at .381, second baseman Eric Jeffres at .373 and outfielder Chris Garife at .368. Jeffres is the team’s top power hitter with nine home runs and 34 runs batted in.

The Cougars have also received steady play from starting pitcher Craig Hale and reliever Chris Matkin. Hale is 7-3 with a 3.39 ERA and Matkin is 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will be among the favorites when it plays host to the NCAA Division III men’s tennis championships Sunday through May 19 in Claremont.

The Stags are seeded third in the tournament behind top-ranked Kalamazoo of Michigan and UC Santa Cruz. Pomona-Pitzer of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is ranked ninth entering the tournament.

Sixth-ranked Swarthmore of Pennsylvania is defending champion.

Claremont has been led in singles play by Lance Au, who is ranked No. 5 in Division III, and Ryan McKee, ranked No. 17. Au and McKee are also ranked No. 2 in doubles.

Pomona is led by Reed Newhall and Edward Kim in singles. Newhall is ranked No. 11 and Kim No. 19.

After winning its first National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 title last week, the Azusa Pacific women’s softball team will play host to the NAIA area playoffs starting today at Northside Park in Azusa.

The Cougars (32-19) will meet District 7 champion Western New Mexico (23-17) in the opener of the double-elimination tournament at 11 a.m. Hawaii Loa (29-5), the District 29 champion, is the top-seeded team in the three-team event.

There will also be elimination games at 1 and 3 p.m. today. The final will be Friday and the winner advances to the national tournament May 16-18 in Columbia, Mo.

The Cougars advanced to the area playoffs by defeating three-time defending champion Cal Lutheran, 3-2, in the district title game last week in Thousand Oaks.

Azusa Pacific, coached by former Ram lineman Doug Barnett, has been led by pitcher Julie Todd. The sophomore from Arroyo High in El Monte has a 22-9 record.

The top offensive players for the Cougars are first baseman Kristi Van Zee, who is batting .445, and second baseman Julie Badillo, who is batting .438.