Box Score

TURLOCK — It was another one-run game for the 18th ranked Cal State Stanislaus baseball team. But this time it went in favor of the bad guys as Cal Poly Pomona took a 4-3 game Friday to open the series.

Travis Taijeron's solo home run in the top of the ninth was the final difference as the Broncos handed the Warriors' a rare defeat at Warrior Baseball Field. The Broncos rode the arm of their top bullpen guy in the final innings to edge the Warriors. Cal State Stanislaus is now 11-2 at home.

Cal State Stanislaus, now 13-4 overall and 7-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, had to play from behind all day and the Warriors rose to the challenge. The Warriors tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth, then again at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

Entering Friday's game, the Warriors had been in games decided by three runs or fewer seven times in 10 CCAA games. Last weekend, Stanislaus beat Cal State Dominguez Hills three times by one run.

In today's game, Cal Poly Pomona got two runs in the first off just one Andrew Stueve hit. A throwing error and a triple resulted in a run. Mike Santora, who hit the triple, scored another on a Travis Taijeron fly to right.

As it turned out, Taijeron went deep in all three of his at bats with the first two staying in the park as fly outs. His third at-bat, however, ended up as the game-winner as he took a Giammanco 1-1 pitch 400-feet to center for his fifth homer of the year.

The Warriors had just tied the game in the home half of the eighth off Bronco's Jake Reed. With Warriors at first and second with nobody out, a passed ball moved both runners up a bag during Casey Filkins' plate appearance.

Filkins used a grounder to short to score the game tying run. However, Reed got a strikeout, then intentionally walked Joe Medeiros to face Vince Hungerford. Hungerford then grounded out to third for the final out.

Medeiros went 2-for-2 with a double on the day before taking the intentional walk. He drove in the Warriors' run in the fourth, scoring Thomas Shull, that tied the game at 2-2.

Stanislaus starter Andrew Stueve gave up just three hits in the no decision. He struck out five and walked one in 7 1/3 innings of work where he allowed two earned runs.

Reed, who entered the game with a 0.51 ERA out of the Broncos bullpen, improved to 3-0 after 2 1/3 innings of work. He gave up one unearned run on two hits.

The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday to continue the series.