College Baseball / Bob Cuomo : Coach Lopez Has Dominguez Hills on the Road to Respect in CCAA

Cal State Dominguez Hills probably is best known for being the site of last year’s Olympic track cycling events, but if Coach Andy Lopez has his way, it also will be recognized as a school that produces good baseball teams.

Lopez is in his third year as head coach, and after records of 14-28 in 1983 and 25-35-1 in 1984, he appears to be well on the way to realizing his goal.

Dominguez Hills, which lost six of its first seven games this season, has since won 23 of 33. Of greater significance, though, is that the Toros, after back-to-back sixth place finishes in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., are contending for the title. They’re 10-4 and tied for second with Cal State Northridge. Cal Poly Pomona is first at 7-2.

“I want to gain respect within our conference and in the nation,” said Lopez, who before taking the Dominguez Hills job earned plenty of respect by compiling a five-year record of 108-48 at Mira Costa High School.

“I can’t really express how happy I am about how everything has turned out . . . I’m extremely pleased, not only for being 10-4 in the CCAA and for our winning record, but because this group has worked real hard and has overcome a lot of adversity . . . We’ve had a lot of injuries.”

The pitching staff was almost decimated. Sophomore right-hander Jim Copley, the No. 2 starter, appeared in only four games before being lost with a shoulder injury. Senior right-hander Jeff Hines, the No. 3 starter, recently returned to the rotation after being sidelined with a sore shoulder. And reliever Don Spadoni, a junior right-hander, missed three weeks with a bad back.

The Toros also were without shortstop Craig Grebeck, who broke a bone in his right elbow in a skiing accident. Sophomore Mike Perryman, last year’s starting second baseman, was moved to short, and junior Mike Brocki, who played third base last season, moved to second. Grebeck, a sophomore, was activated for the series with Cal State Northridge two weeks ago.

Ah yes, the Cal State Northridge series. The mere mention of it makes Lopez smile. And for good reason. After losing the first two games to the defending Division II champion, the Toros won the next three to give them their 10-4 conference record.

“It was a big boost,” Lopez said. “Losing the first two put our backs to the wall, and we had to play the third game there (at Northridge). And then they had us down in the first game of the doubleheader (Game 4 of the series). But we came back . . . We hit the ball well the whole series. I’m really proud of these guys.”

The Toros have hit the ball well all season, as evidenced by the club’s .306 batting average. That’s why they’ve been winning. But hitting isn’t the only reason for the turnabout.

“Hitting definitely is our strength,” Lopez said. “We’re producing offensively very well. But we hit well in the fall, so I knew our offense would be good.

“The attitude is also very good, and that’s important. The guys are committed to making this program successful. They want to win, and they’re doing it. I haven’t played an inning all season. The players deserve all the credit.

“I thought this team would improve. I thought we’d have a chance (to contend for the CCAA title). I really did. And this is still a young team, so bright days are ahead.”

Lopez, who played two years at the Division I level--he was UCLA’s shortstop in 1974-75--doesn’t subscribe to the popular notion that Division II baseball is inferior to the brand played by Division I schools.

“After being at UCLA, I can honestly say that Division II programs here are very good,” he said. “I can’t speak for the rest of the country, but here in the CCAA the quality of play is very good and the coaching is excellent.

“I think our players realize that they can compete with Division I teams. We’ve beaten Division I teams. We don’t get intimidated by Division I teams. I think we’re on an equal basis with them.”

Baseball Notes

Add Dominguez Hills offense: Last year’s 25-35-1 club batted only .253 and averaged 3.45 runs per game. This season the Toros are hitting .306 and averaging 7.25 runs. Second baseman Mike Brocki is the offensive catalyst. Brocki, the leadoff hitter, is batting .351 and has an on-base percentage of .488. He has scored 46 runs and leads the CCAA with 29 stolen bases in 34 attempts. He also has a fielding average of .982 (only four errors in 225 chances). Junior first baseman Kevin Whalen leads the team in hitting at .400 and has 31 RBIs. Sophomore third baseman Fred Hanker is the top RBI man with 37 . . . Cal State Fullerton is dispelling reports that its highly successful program is on the decline. Fullerton, the defending national Division I champion, was struggling with a 19-22 record two weeks ago, but the Titans extended their winning streak to six games Sunday at Loyola Marymount by defeating the Lions, 3-2. Included in the streak is a three-game sweep of Cal State Long Beach which raised Fullerton’s Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. record to 12-5 and solidified its lead in the Southern Division. The Titans are three games ahead of second-place Nevada Las Vegas (9-8), whom they play in a three-game series this weekend at Fullerton . . . The Rebels swept three games from UC Irvine last week. First baseman Mike Oglesbee hit his 18th homer of the season and drove in eight runs in the series. He leads the nation in RBIs with 73.

Loyola center fielder Reggie Lambert had his 16-game hitting streak snapped Sunday by Fullerton’s Doug Robertson. Lambert, who batted .522 during the streak (35 for 67), walked, popped to first and flied to right twice. He’s now hitting .389 . . . Robertson, a junior right-hander making his fourth start, yielded only four singles, none after Damien Bonenfant bunted safely with one out in the fourth inning. He retired the final 13 men he faced. He’s 3-4 . . . It was tough defeat for Loyola’s Tim Layana (6-7). Layana, a junior right-hander, pitched a seven-hitter, walked one and struck out seven. His earned-run average is an excellent 2.69. He’s completed seven of his nine starts, and in 100 innings has allowed only 85 hits and 37 walks while striking out 86. He also has four saves . . . UCLA had lost 11 straight Pacific 10 Southern Division games before beating California, 12-4, Sunday at Berkeley in the final game of their three-game series. The Bruins are fifth in the six-team league at 6-12 (they’re 24-24 overall), two games ahead of USC. The Trojans, 4-14 (19-30 overall) were swept by Arizona State and have lost seven straight conference games.