Cal Poly Pomona Going ‘Other Way’

Mike Ashman knows that a baseball season is long and usually has its ups and downs.

When his Cal Poly Pomona team lost to NAIA schools Cal Baptist and dropped two to Azusa Pacific at the start of the season, he didn’t panic.

But when the Broncos lost eight consecutive games and fell to 2-11, it was time for him to get concerned. In eight of those games, they were held to three runs or fewer.

“We just didn’t hit at all,” Ashman said. “I was frustrated. The guys were frustrated. I asked myself, ‘Can these guys hit at this level?’ and I would say, ‘Yeah, they can because they all have at one time or another.’ ”

Then, with his team still sitting below .500 overall and in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. on the eve of a four-game series at Grand Canyon College, came a turnaround of season-long proportions.

“When we were in Arizona, we got a chance to work out with the [Anaheim] Angels’ minor leaguers,” Ashman said. “Then we got a chance to watch the big leaguers. They got to watch guys like Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon work out and they saw how these guys just pounded the ball the other way.

“After that, they cleared the stadium and we got to go on the field. We just worked on driving the ball the other way.”

Watching major leaguers apparently worked. The Broncos scored five runs in the first inning of a 12-6 victory over Grand Canyon. Pomona went on to score 35 runs in splitting the four-game series

Since then, Pomona has won 19 of 26 games and a 10-game winning streak helped land the Broncos (30-24) in the CCAA tournament at Chico State this week.

They play top-seeded Chico State in the first round of the double-elimination tournament Thursday, having just split a four-game series against the defending NCAA Division II national champion Wildcats on their field.

Ashman said playing well last weekend further boosted his team’s confidence.

“I thought our guys got a taste of what it’s going to be like this weekend,” he said. “They had about 500 or 600 fans [each game] and some of those fans would get on them.

“We handled it pretty well. But there will be 2,000, maybe 3,000 people this week. At this level, I don’t think there’s any other place in Division II that has that kind of environment.”

Pitching has been the Broncos’ constant. Andrew Perkins (6-4, 3.78 earned-run average), Andrew Perry (2-5, 3.45), Chris Amaya (6-3, 4.76) and Steve Kaustinen (3-3, 4.86) have led a staff that has posted a 4.28 ERA.

“Good pitching gives you an opportunity to win every game,” Ashman said. “I think we can win the tournament if they give us a chance.”

That’s something Ashman couldn’t say in March.

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Occidental College’s first national women’s water polo title couldn’t have come in more thrilling fashion.

Facing rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the Tigers won, 7-6, on a sudden-death goal by Kate Whitchurch in the title match at the Collegiate III National Championships on Sunday at UC Santa Cruz.

Redlands, which had won the last five titles and beat Occidental in the final in 1997, finished third after going 2-2 in bracket play.

“When we finished second in 1997, it was more of a surprise,” Occidental Coach Dennis Fosdick said. “We upset Claremont that year and that was our championship. We weren’t even ready for Redlands.

“This year, we felt we could do it. We set the goal early in the year.”

Whitchurch scored 12 goals in the five games to earn first-team all-tournament honors. Sophomore goalie Jackie Provost was the tournament MVP.

UNIVERSITY DIVISION

USC, UCLA and Pepperdine will begin play in both the NCAA men’s and women’s tennis regionals this weekend.

In the men’s 64-team bracket Saturday, second-ranked UCLA and eighth-ranked Pepperdine will host first- and second-round matches. At the L.A. Tennis Center, UCLA (21-3) plays Missouri Kansas City (12-10) and Notre Dame (12-10) takes on New Mexico State (15-5). At Pepperdine, the Waves (22-2) will play host to Tulsa (12-10), and Washington (15-8) plays San Diego State (15-7).

Winners at both regionals will advance to the finals next week in Athens, Ga.

The USC men (16-9) travel to Fresno to play Pacific (13-8)in the first round. Fresno State (23-4) plays Oregon (12-9), with winners of both matches playing Sunday.

USC (15-8) will be the site of a regional in the women’s tournament as the Trojans play Maryland Baltimore County (15-4) on Friday. Arizona (9-11) plays New Mexico (15-11) in the other first-round match at Marks Tennis Stadium.

UCLA (14-8) opens play at home against Boston University (13-4) and Washington (12-9) takes on Georgia Tech (13-7). Pepperdine (20-4) plays Drake (16-5), and Louisiana State (14-10) takes on Iowa (10-12) on Friday in Malibu.

All winners of second-round women matches advance to the NCAA tournament at Pepperdine. Play begins May 18 for both team and individual titles.

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USC, Loyola Marymount and UC San Diego will be among the teams participating in the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Lake Natoma in Sacramento.

USC, UCLA and Pepperdine, all ranked among the top 10 in women’s golf, will look to secure spots in the NCAA tournament in the 54-hole West Regionals on Thursday at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The top 11 teams and three individuals will advance. Some of the nation’s top golfers are competing, among them USC’s Candie Kung, UCLA’s Amanda Moltke-Leth, Pepperdine’s Tamie Durden and Arizona’s top-ranked Jenna Daniels.

In winning the men’s volleyball and women’s water polo national championships, UCLA has run its NCAA titles to a nation-leading 82. Stanford and USC are second with 76 each.