CARSON -- The No. 2 ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team was honored with a banner unveiling to commemorate winning the 2022 NCAA West Region Championship prior to game one, and game two starter
Ashley Wies tossed a complete-game 6-hitter in a 4-1 win to salvage a split against Azusa Pacific after the Cougars blanked the Toros in the opener.
Raquel Jaime knocked two hits in the nightcap win and made the defensive play of the day with a diving snag and tag at third base for the game's final out to move CSUDH to 6-3.
Unlike the first game that saw the Toros fail to generate any offense, CSUDH struck quickly to open the nightcap after a
Jay Ross single plated Jaime, who singled open the game.
Kianna Abellera then came up with runners on 1st and 3rd and sent a sacrifice fly to left to bring home
Alex Davis for a 2-0 lead.
The Toros tacked on two more runs in the 5th inning as Jaime roped a single through the left side that sent pinch-runner Hailey Garcia to third, with an APU throwing error allowing Garcia to score. One batter later and after a Cougar pitching change, Davis reached on a fielder's choice, allowing
Sydney Diaz to score.
Wies was cruising until the final inning when the visitors mounted a rally and spoiled the shutout effort, posting their first run of the game. With two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Caitlin DeCanio sent a one-hop laser to Jaime at 3B, who snagged the hot shot and tagged the Cougar runner who was off on the hit for the final out.
Wies fanned six without a walk, scattering six hits in the win.
In the opener, both batteries posted zeroes over the first 4.0 innings of play. In the 5th, however, a pair of Toro errors led to a 6-run Cougar outburst, putting the game away and giving APU the eventual game-one win.
Alyssa Olague was the hard-luck loser, with none of the six runs being earned.
Prior to the double-header, CSUDH unveiled its 2022 NCAA West Region Championship banner in left field, where it will stay for the duration of the season.
CSUDH begins CCAA play this weekend, traveling to CS San Bernardino for a four-game set.