Toros Can’t Hold Early Lead in Falling to Cal State Stanislaus, 7-4, in Series Finale

2008 Senior Class

Box Score

Carson, CA - On a hot Sunday afternoon during which the Toros honored six seniors on “Senior Day,” it was visiting Cal State Stanislaus' bats that proved hotter than the Toros when it counted most as the Warriors salvaged a series split with CSUDH by taking a 7-4 win in the fourth and final game of the series. With the loss, CSUDH falls to 19-26, 15-13 CCAA, while CSUS improves to 27-15, 19-9 CCAA.

CSUDH looked to send its seniors out with a bang, using a Jon Alia RBI grounder, an Eric Blackwell RBI single and a Brian Sturgis RBI double for a quick 3-0 lead after an inning of play.

That lead didn't last long, however, as the Warriors plated one in the 2nd and three in the 3rd for a 4-3 lead, the big blow coming in a 2RBI double from David Contreras.

CSUS then capitalized on Toro errors in both the 7th and 8th innings to put across two more runs for a 6-4 lead, before CSUDH's Sturgis tallied his second RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly in the 8th.

The Warriors, however, made good on their plans to spoil the “Senior Day” festivities by mounting a two-out rally in the 9th and adding an insurance run on the third RBI of the day by Contreras.

The Toros had one final at-bat in the 9th as they sent their 1-2-3 hitters up, but after leadoff hitter Candelario Flores was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a ground out, Warrior closer Andrew DeMott fanned the next batter on three straight pitches before inducing a grounder to shortstop to end the game and salvage a split for CSUS.

At the plate Cody Puckett and Kevin Pillar shared the team-high hits with two apiece while Sturgis paced the way with two RBI.

Senior David Leyva had a strong outing out of the bullpen, tossing 58 pitches over 4.2 innings, while fanning four batters and allowing just one unearned run.

CSUDH hits the road for its final two CCAA series of the season, taking on No. 15 Chico State next weekend and No. 2 Sonoma State in two weeks. The Toros will play one last meaningful game on Toro Field this season when they host Biola University on Wednesday, April 23, at 3:00 pm.

Print Friendly Version