Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CARSON -- Cal State Dominguez Hills starter
Julian Diaz tossed 8.0 shutout innings of 3-hit, 8-strikeout ball in the opener while
Aaron Greenfield (pictured) belted three home runs in the nightcap to power the Toros to 7-0 and 15-6 wins over visiting Chico State on a windy Saturday at Toro Field.
With the wins, CSUDH inches closer to the 6th and final spot to qualify for the CCAA Tournament in two weeks with five games left in the regular season, including Sunday's series finale starting at 12 noon.
The Toros currently sit in 7th place, just 1.5 games back of Cal Poly Pomona and Stan State, who are tied for 5th in the CCAA standings.
The opener was a pitchers' duel through 5.5 innings of work, with neither team able to get rid of its zero on the board. That changed in the 6th when
Anthony Accordino pulled a single down the let field line to bring home
Vincent Temesvary with the game's first run.
That's where the score remained until the 8th when CSUDH exploded for six runs, the big blow coming ona Temesvary 2RBI bases-loaded single that kept the inning alive by a Wildcat error early in the fame that led to three of the runs being unearned.
That was plenty for Diaz, who scattered just three hits while fanning eight against no walks. He faced the minimum amount of batters over the first 3.0 innings of work, and the final 12 of 14 batters he faced before exiting after the 8th inning with 103 pitches.
Temesvary's three hits and Accordino's two led the Toro offense as they made the most out of their nine hits.
In the nightcap, the Toros took an early 6-1 lead after 2.0 innings, with Greenfield launching a solo shot in the 1st and Temesvary a 3-run job one inning later.
After the Wildcats cut two off their deficit, a
Brock Denbo 2RBI double answered Chico's push, before Greenfield launched another solo shot in the 4th for a 9-3 Toro lead.
After
Andrew Buglino gave the Toros 10-3 lead with an RBI single to left, Greenfield was at it again, pulling a 3-run home run down the left field line for his third home run of the game to blow the contest open.
His home run tied the record for most home runs in a game with teammate
Eric Smelko, whose feat came last weekend at No. 18 CS Monterey Bay in a dramatic 13-12 extra-inning win, and Mike Gabbani, who set the record in 1990 with three bombs against Alliant International.
Not to be outdone, Smelko followed his teammate's lead two batters later with a 2-run blast to right to make it 15-4, before Chico scored single runs in the 6th and 7th for the final tally.
Greenfield went 3-for-3 with 5RBI and 4 runs scored, also drawing two walks in the process.
Emilio Barrera enjoyed a "quiet" 3-for-4 effort with 3 runs scored, with Accordino and
Justin Abercrombie lacing two hits apiece.
Toro starter
Nico Martinez was the beneficiary of this offensive surge, earning the win after going 5.0 innings, scattering 10 hits with three strikeouts.
The Toros and Wildcats complete their four-game set tomorrow at 12 noon, after CSUDH honors 10 seniors playing in the final regular season game of their careers at Toro Field.
The senior day ceremony will begin at 11:25 am.
About Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletics
The Toros are proud to be a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competing at the Division II level, bringing excitement and tradition to the campus through 10 different sports (4 Men's, 6 Women's). The program boasts 4 NCAA Championships, 2 NAIA National Titles, 11 NCAA West Region crowns and 36 CCAA Championships. CSUDH is one of 12 universities that competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the most prominent Division II conference in the nation with 155 NCAA National Championships, far more than any other conference in the nation.
