April 28, 2006
Box Score
Game 1 Game 2
Carson, CA -- The 6th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team combined stellar pitching by Jackie Miller (Bremerton, WA/CS Stanislaus) and Amy Thomas (Barstow, CA/Barstow HS) with timely hitting by Kate Groden (San Pedro, CA/SE Missouri University) and a costly Sonoma State error in the nightcap to take 3-1 and 4-1 wins over the Seawolves Friday afternoon on Toro Diamond. With the wins and one Cal State Bakersfield loss, the Toros move to 38-7, 17-5 CCAA and one game behind the league-leading 'Runners with six games left in the regular season, while Sonoma State falls to 20-29, 4-16 CCAA.
The Toros started early in the opener, using a Cindy Perry-Brown (Victorville, CA/Silverado HS) walk, stolen base and Groden sacrifice fly one batter later for a quick 1-0 lead. After the Seawolves knotted the contest in the 4th on a Heather James RBI single as part of a 3-hit inning, Groden laced a 2RBI double one inning later to plate Elicia Velazquez (San Diego, CA/Palomar JC) and Lori Moreno (Los Angeles, CA/California HS), who reached base earlier in the frame.
Miller did the rest, fanning a career-best 10 batters en route to her 14th win of the season (14-2). The Bremerton native scattered five hits and fanned four-consecutive Seawolves at one point, retiring the side in order in 3 of the 7 innings. Perry added two hits as the Toros pounded 7 total in the victory.
After the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning of the nightcap, the Toros answered with three unearned runs in their 4th inning at-bat, with two runs coming home on botched ground ball off the bat of Natalie Greco (Downey, CA/Warren HS). Velazquez would follow with an RBI single to give the Toros a 3-1 lead, after which Greco scored CSUDH's fourth run two innings later as part of a five-hit deluge.
Thomas was the beneficiary of the costly miscue, fanning two SSU batters en route to picking up her 11th win (11-4). The Barstow native retired the first nine Seawolves she faced, and the order in 4 of her 7innings pitched. Velazquez's three hits paced the Toros' attack while Perry-Brown and Araceli Martinez (Downey, CA/Warren HS) each contributed two hits in the win.
The Toros, currently the NFCA's 6th-ranked team and NCAA's 2nd-seed in the West Region, conclude their regular season home schedule tomorrow in a possible NCAA post-season preview against the defending Far West Region Champion and No. 19-ranked San Francisco State Gators, with first pitch scheduled for a 12 noon start. Before the twinbill, the Toros will honor its eight seniors on “Senior Day.”
