Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
CARSON -- Western Oregon took the fight to Cal State Dominguez Hills today, taking both games of the twinbill to split the season series at two games apiece. Carlos Leyva led off both games with a home run after last night's walk-off blast, to give him the team's only three home runs of the season.
In the first game the Toros offense started out strong before being silenced over the final five innings. CSUDH would score first in the bottom of the first thanks to a Carlos Leyva lead off home run followed by an Abel Medina RBI groundout later in the inning. The Wolves would break through and grab the lead in the top of the third after two straight runners reached and were driven in by a three-run homer to left field.
The fourth inning saw both squads score two runs and leave two runners on base. Down 5-2, CSUDH scored one run on a sacrifice fly and another on an RBI single by Jose Jauregui. For the next four innings neither team would score a run as Western Oregon would strand the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. The lead would expand to four runs as WOU scored three in the top of the ninth, two of those runs being unearned.
For game one CSUDH stranded four runners while WOU stranded an amazing 13 runners in victory. The Toros committed four or more errors for the fourth time this season.
Game two had all the makings of a series winner, if not for one inning where the Toros just could not stop the Wolves run train. Leyva led off the game with a home run for a second time while the Toros added a second run in the bottom of the first on a Drew Rodela RBI single to center. The lead would grow to 5-1 after three innings but from there on CSUDH could not get another run across.
WOU belted five hits and an error in the top of the fourth to help them score five runs to take a 6-5 lead. The top of the fifth looked to be a huge momentum swing for the Toros as they held the Wolves without a run after they loaded the bases. However, it was short lived as a poorly executed squeeze play with the bases loaded ended the one-out rally for the Toros in the bottom half of the frame.
Following tomorrow's alumni contest, CSUDH kicks off CCAA play next weekend as Sonoma State makes its every-other-year visit to Carson, with first pitch of game on set for 1 pm on Friday, February 18.
