'Big Jon' Alia Hits Toros Out of the Park in 11-4 Win at No. 11 Cal State L.A.

Box Score

Los Angeles, CA -- As if his three total home runs in the Chico State series weren't enough, Jon Alia blasted two more today to bring his season total to 11 and lift the Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball team to an 11-4 victory over No. 11 ranked Cal State L.A. Now with a 17-13 record (12-9 CCAA), the Toros were led on the mound by Michael Cruz, who threw a total of 3.0 innings and fanned three of his batters to record the win.

In only his first at-bat in the game, Alia was able to send his pitch flying over the fence to give the Toros the immediate edge at 1-0 in the second frame. Not to be outdone, Paul-Michael Klingsberg sent a 3-RBI bomb over the fence only one inning later and brought home Kevin Pillar and Alia to give CSUDH the lead at 5-0.

After notching one more in the fourth, the Toros would gain an even greater lead in the fifth as Alia blasted his second homer of the game for the second time this season. Three more runs off a Candelario Flores single and Brian Sturgis double would bring the Toros to a 11-0 lead over the Golden Eagles.

CSULA answered back in the sixth with a home run of their own, courtesy of Matt Miraldi, and another Golden Eagle run would give them minor momentum with a score of 11-2.

With one more frame, the Eagles grabbed an additional two runs in the ninth, capitalizing on an untimely Toro error and using four hits to their advantage. But closer Klingsberg was summoned from the outfield with two outs, and guided his team to an 11-4 victory after sending his only batter back to the dugout on a swing-and-a-miss.

Aside from Alia's and Klingsberg's bombs, Carlos Leyva had an outstanding day from the plate going 3-5 with a triple and an RBI. Though not picking up the win on the day, Bret Montgomery saw the starting four innings from the mound and recorded five Ks while only allowing three hits and zero runs.

With 15 total hits and three home runs, the Toros were dominant from the plate as they gave the Eagles only 10 hits, a scant six of those in the first eight frames. CSUDH's pitching crew fanned 10 of their batters while the Eagles were able to shut down 11 of CSUDH's.

Now with a 17-13 overall record (12-9 CCAA), the Toros will continue action against the Eagles with a single game set for tomorrow at 3:00pm on the campus of Cal State L.A.

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