TURLOCK — Maxwell Pappas won his third consecutive start Saturday by shutting down a red-hot Cal Poly Pomona team, beating the Broncos, 3-1, in the California Collegiate Athletic Association series finale at Warrior Field.
 
Pappas (6-3) went seven innings Saturday against Cal Poly Pomona (22-15, 17-10 CCAA), limiting them to one run while striking out five and only walking one. Pappas and the Warriors (11-26, 9-23 CCAA) snapped the Broncos' seven-game winning streak and stopped their own five-game skid. It was Pappas' third consecutive start going at least seven innings after he threw back-to-back nine-inning complete games in his previous two starts.
 
Danny Murphy went 2 for 3 – his 11th multi-hit game of the season – and scored a run, Matt Elser went 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored, and Grant Bunker hit his seventh home run of the season. Bunker's seven homers are the most in a single season by a Warriors since Jack Large hit nine in 2018. Nick Lugo had the Broncos' lone multi-hit performance, going 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
 
Stanislaus State allowed its ace to settle in early, taking a 2-0 lead by the third inning with single runs in both the second and third. Elser led off the second with a double and small-ball scored him with a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout, making it 1-0. Bunker's homer in the third was a two-out solo shot that put Stan State up, 2-0. Jonluke Goldman added an insurance run in the sixth after the first two batters reached safely, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
 
A day after not being able to turn a double play that would've ended the game, the Warriors turned two double plays on Saturday. The first in the second inning kept Pappas facing the minimum through the game's first eight batters. The second one in the seventh was the biggest one. Cal Poly Pomona had runners on the corners and no outs in a 3-0 ballgame, but a double play only allowed the one run to score and cleared the bases with two outs on the board.
 
Tony Cortez pitched two innings of shutout, no-hit relief to earn the first save of his career. He pitched a perfect 1-2-3 eighth, then allowed two base runners in the ninth, but a diving catch by Bunker on a bloop to left-center field ended the game in thrilling fashion.
 
The Warriors next travel to San Francisco State for a four-game CCAA series starting on Friday. Fans can find all live coverage links on WarriorAthletics.com.