CARSON -- There really is no place like home.
After getting swept on the road last weekend, Cal State Dominguez Hills returned to the friendly confines of Toro Diamond to sweep visiting Chico State by 9-1 (5) and 9-5 scores.
Ashley Ogata (pictured) picked up both wins to improve to 10-3 overall while
Torie Au led the offensive charge with five RBI on the day.
The Toros jumped all over Wildcat starter Bella Tavares in the opener, scoring six runs on seven hits to take a 6-0 lead after three innings of work.
Au began the deluge with a 2RBI double, with
Savanna Kastigar bringing Au home one batter later with a single to right field.
CSUDH continued its offensive surge an inning later, capitalizing on a Wildcat error to bring home two unearned runs, adding another in the third inning on a
Mireya Rico solo shot to dead center.
After the Wildcats got on the board with a run in the top of the fourth inning, the Toros answered with three runs on an Au sacrifice fly and 2RBI double by Rico to complete the scoring.
Brooke Umali then took over in the circle, allowing just one hit to close the door in the opener as the Toros took the mercy run rule win.
Ashley Goodale roped three hits and scored thrice, with Au and Rico both driving in three runs.
Ogata tossed a masterful 4.0 innings, scattering five hits with just one run scored against.
Chico State opened the scoring in the nightcap with a pair of runs in the third inning, only to have the Toros answer with six runs to take the lead for good in the bottom half of the frame.
Marisa Dominguez began the scoring with an RBI single, with Au stroking a 2RBI double for a 3-2 lead one batter later.
Kastigar then doubled home Au for a 4-2 lead, prompting a Wildcat pitching change.
That proved futile as Rico greeted the new pitcher with her own RBI single for a 5-2 advantage, with a Wildcat error accounting for the frame's final run.
After Chico answered with two runs in the fourth, the Toros got two back in their at-bat as another Wildcat miscue gifted CSUDH two more runs.
The Wildcats tacked on one run in the fifth, only to have the hosts get it right back after Chico committed its fifth and final error of the game.
Eight Toros notched a hit in the win, with Au driving home two runners.
After
Audrey Gallegos and Umali combined for the first 4.0 innings of work, Ogata entered for the final 3.0 innings, allowing just one hit with one strikeout.
The two teams conclude their four-game series tomorrow morning, with first pitch of game one set for 11 am on Toro Diamond.
