Broncos Battle Riverside With Baseball Hopes on the Line

Cal Poly Pomona will try to remain in contention in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. baseball race when it meets UC Riverside in a three-game series Friday and Saturday.

The Broncos, who are in second place in the CCAA at 12-9 and one game behind Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (14-9), will play host to Riverside in a single game at 3 p.m. Friday and face the Highlanders in a double-header at noon Saturday at Riverside.

Riverside, one of the preseason favorites to win the conference, has struggled to a 10-12-1 record in CCAA play and is 19-23-1 overall. Pomona is 18-24 for the season.

Pomona, defending conference champion, stayed in title contention last week by defeating Cal State Northridge in two out of three games. Northridge entered the series ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Division II.

Pomona has been paced by a strong attack and has a .311 team batting average. The leaders have been senior catcher Chris Goldbach, who is hitting .396, and junior outfielder Chris Butterfield at .389. Goldbach also leads the CCAA in hits with 65 and runs batted in with 47.

The Broncos have received solid pitching from junior Wayne Koklys and sophomore Dan Mead. Koklys has been particularly impressive in conference games with a 5-0 record and 1.52 earned-run average.

Riverside, which lost two of three games to third-place Cal State Los Angeles last week, has been led by junior catcher Jeff Goodale at .324 with 38 RBIs and freshman outfielder Scott Einhorn at .291 with seven home runs.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s softball team will renew a longtime rivalry with Cal State Fullerton in a Big West Conference double-header at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Pomona.

Fullerton entered the week in first place in the Big West at 24-6 and 40-10 overall and ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division I while Pomona is 20-10 in conference play and 32-19 overall.

But the all-time series between the teams is close with Fullerton holding a 28-26-1 advantage. Pomona is also fresh from an upset double-header sweep Sunday over Fresno State, which is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division I.

Pomona, ranked No. 11 in Division I, has been led by the pitching of senior Lori Thompson and sophomore Nicky Luce. Thompson is 14-7 with a team-leading 0.84 earned-run average and Luce is 14-9 with a 1.03 ERA.

On offense, the Broncos are headed by all-conference catcher Denise Correa, who has a .282 batting average. Freshman infielder Shellie McCall leads the team with 20 runs batted in.

Fullerton has received outstanding pitching from Anjie Bryant, who is 22-4 with an 0.54 ERA and 10 shutouts.

Before meeting Fullerton, the Broncos will play host to U.S. International in a non-conference double-header at 1:30 p.m. today. The Gulls, who are 15-30-1, are led by pitcher Cindy Oliver, who is 9-14 with a 1.42 ERA.

After struggling to a record of 7-19 overall and 1-13 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. last season, the Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team has signed three junior college transfers to letters of intent for next season.

Coach Dave Bollwinkel said the Broncos have signed forwards Shawn Wright (6-5) from Illinois Central, Terry Ross (6-6) from Merritt and Rafael Vargas (6-7) from Imperial Valley.

Wright and Ross were particularly impressive last season.

Wright averaged 21 points and eight rebounds to earn All-Arrowhead Conference and all-region selection. Recruited by NCAA Division I colleges, he chose Pomona over Tennessee-Martin and Southeast Louisiana.

Ross was one of the leading offensive players in the state last season. He was fourth in scoring with an average of 25.9 points and second in rebounding with a 16.2 average. He was also selected his team’s most valuable player and made the All-Bay Valley Conference team.

Vargas was Imperial Valley’s most valuable player, averaging 11.2 points and 6.4 rebounds.

“Having been out-rebounded and outscored at the inside positions during the past season, we knew that it was important to recruit JC help to hold down the middle,” Bollwinkel said. “The addition of Shawn, Rafael and Terry gives us three strong interior rebounders and scorers.”

The Broncos previously signed two other front-line players: 6-8 forward John Overbeck from St. Paul High and 6-7 forward Anders Anderson from Chaffey Junior College.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team has signed a second All-CIF Southern Section high school player to a letter of intent for next season.

The Broncos, who won the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title for the eighth straight year and finished second in the NCAA Division II last season, have signed 6-2 center Tara Davidson of Palm Desert High. Davidson averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds as a senior and was an All-Desert Valleys League and All-Riverside County selection.

“Tara is a talented inside player who should develop into a strong collegian,” Pomona Coach Darlene May said. “She solidifies our inside game and gives our team a strong foundation for the future.”

The Broncos had earlier signed 6-3 center Danielle Carter in April. Carter, an All-CIF center and forward at Fontana High, was one of the top scorers in the state.

Sprinter Inger Miller of Muir High School in Pasadena has been selected girls state Athlete of the Month for March by Cal-Hi Sports News of Sacramento.

A junior with the Mustangs, Miller has established herself as one of the top prep sprinters in the nation. In March at the Northridge Relays she defeated defending state champion Angela Burnham of Rio Mesa in the 100-meter dash for the first time ever.

She also produced a national-best clocking of 23.62 in the 200 meters at the Pasadena Games in March and the second-best time in the nation in the 100 meters of 11.59 seconds.