HAYWARD, Calif. -- They say it isn't how you start, but how you finish.
Stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning in a tie game after leaving five runners on base in her last two at-bats,
Dyoni Garcia removed the sting of those missed opportunities with one mighty swat, clobbering a 1-2 offering over the left field fence to give No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills a thrilling 8-6 walk-off win over No. 5 seed Cal State Monterey Bay in a CCAA Championship elimination game, and a date with No. 1 seed Cal State San Marcos tomorrow at high noon.
The CSUDH/CSUSM match-up will be the first of two games tomorrow in the now four-team, double-elimination tournament, which precedes the No. 2 Cal State East Bay vs No. 3 Cal Poly Humboldt match-up.
Toro starter
Ashley Ogata tossed a master class before being relieved after 6.0 innings of work, scattering five hits and just one run.
CSUDH maintained a comfortable 6-1 lead entering the top of the seventh, backed by a 3-for-3, 2 run, 1 RBI effort by
Torie Au and a 3-for-4, 1 RBI offering by
Mireya Rico.
The Otters, however, got to reliever
Audrey Gallegos in the seventh inning, tagging her for three runs without a hit, knocking her out of the game after getting just one out.
Ogata re-entered with the bases loaded, only to allow an RBI single and a grand slam to knot the game at 6-6.
That set the stage for Garcia's dramatics, ending the game after Au drew a full-count walk to lead off the frame to complete her perfect day at the plate.
Savanna Kastigar also came up huge, belting a 3-run shot in the fifth inning as part of CSUDH's 14 hits on the day.
The Toros were swept by the then No. 2 nationally-ranked Cougars in early April, who sport a 47-6 overall record after claiming the CCAA regular season title, also boasting a current No. 4 national rank.
CSUDH scored just eight runs in the four games during a stretch in which they went 2-6, but now have won 10 straight games. CSUSM has won four straight, and 10 of its last 11.
