DENVER, Colo. – An unusual, and in a poetic way, fireworks show began prematurely down the street from Regency Athletic Complex when Cal State Dominguez Hills entered the seventh inning leading North Georgia by three runs.
When the final out was a comebacker to pitcher Ashley Wies, that fireworks show was used in form of celebration after the Toros beat the Nighthawks 7-5 to advance to the NCAA Championship Series, surviving the pressure of three dramatic elimination games in two days to keep their magical 2022 postseason run alive.
Shortly after escaping what looked like a defensive collapse against North Georgia in the first of two elimination games at a chilly and rainy evening in Downtown Denver, Dominguez Hills rode game two on Ashley Wies strong performance in the pitching circle and a crucial three-run home run by Maiya Lopez that kept the Toros' historical season going.
The Toros now get a fresh start as they will play in the best-of-3 NCAA Championship Series against Rogers State, setting up a rematch of the second round. Game 1 for the national title starts Monday at 11 a.m. PDT. Game two will be played Tuesday at the same time and should each team take a win, they will play a winner-take-all immediately after.
The last time the two teams met was in the second round of the winner's bracket on Friday, when the Hillcats romped on the Toros 10-2 and since then Dominguez Hills has had to climb through the elimination bracket to setup the rematch.
After recording a perfect 4-for-4 in the win earlier Sunday against North Georgia, Raquel Jaime came through again by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including a two-run single in the fourth inning that put the Toros ahead 3-2. Lopez followed one out later with a three-run jack to left field to give the Toros a 6-2 lead. It was her second home run in the tournament.
Lopez came up inches short from a second home run night in the sixth. With Claudia Valencia standing at first, Lopez took a pitch to right center that hit the fence but it was plenty enough for Valencia to score the seventh run.
Alyssa Olague got the starting nod again for the Toros. She lasted 2.1 innings giving up two runs that put the Nighthawks ahead 2-1 in the third inning before handing the ball to Wies. Wies would go the rest of the way striking out four and issuing no walks.
The Toros collected 10 hits, bringing a total of 27 on the entire day.
