Toros Dealt Heart-Breaking 3-2 Loss to No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific to Close Out Tournament of Champions

TURLOCK -- Fair or foul, a late-inning slice down the left field line that tore up the base chalk was all the Sea Warriors needed as the Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team fell to No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific in the gold bracket's first game at the 9th Annual Tournament of Champions. Krista Gould helped the Toros stay competitive, driving in their first run of the game.

HPU drew first blood, grabbing a run in both the first and third frames to take a quick 2-0 lead over the Toros.

Unable to start their bats, the Toros fell to the hands of HPU starter Sherise Musquiz, who pitched a perfect game for the first three frames.

Leading off in the fourth, Katie Garcia drove a single straight through the diamond before the Warriors shut down the next Toro batters.

At a perfect time for the Toros, HPU committed an error advancing Garcia before Gould's RBI-single.

It was Gould who once again proved pivotal in this game, reaching on a single in the sixth and scoring on a Caitlin McGrath RBI single.

Going into the ninth under the international tie-breaking rule, the Toros saw their closest opportunity to score slip away, placing a runner on third with none out before HPU shut down the next three batters, using that momentum to score in their bottom half of the frame for the win.

Starting in action, Lauren Harper threw six full frames, fanning one batter before handing the reigns over to Stephanie Jimenez, who recorded the loss in 2.2 innings of play.

The Toros, now 19-15 overall, will resume play as they take on UC San Diego in CCAA play this Friday at 1:00pm in La Jolla.

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