ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – In extra innings,
Nayah Pola drew a bases-loaded walk to clinch the victory for the No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros over the No. 7 seed Azusa Pacific Cougars, 1-0.
In a tightly played match between the Cougars and Toros in the first round of the NCAA West Regional Tournament, the fourth inning proved to be the deciding factor. The Toros patience led to the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The inning started off with a strong hit from
Jay Ross, who singled up the middle.
Mia Ayala was brought in to pinch run for Ross, and she advanced to second on a wild pitch. A sacrifice bunt from
Alex Davis allowed Ayala to advance to third, setting up a scoring opportunity for the Toros.
With one out and runners on third and second,
Raquel Jaime was intentionally walked by the Cougars to load the bases.
Kaylee Hull was also intentionally walked, which loaded the bases once again and set up a potential game-winning situation.
Nayah Pola came up to bat and beat the pitcher to force in the winning run. Hull advanced to second, Jaime advanced to third, and Ayala scored the decisive run for the Toros.
Alyssa Olague pitched for all eight innings, striking out five batters and allowing no runs or earned runs. She kept the opposing team at bay with a total of 115 pitches, facing 33 batters and inducing nine flyouts and 10 groundouts. Her outstanding performance earned her the win, bringing her season record to an impressive 17-8!
The Toros move on to face No. 6 seed Cal State San Marcos at 10:30am tomorrow in the NCAA West Regional Tournament hosted by Sonoma State in Rohnert Park. Catch the action on ccaanetwork.com.
