Toros Get a Date With Sacramento in NCAA Tourney

Cal State Dominguez Hills, which needed a boost from a conference colleague to reach the NCAA Division II baseball tournament, now has its fate in its own hands again. The Toros begin Western Regional play today in a best-of-five series at Sacramento State. The winner advances to the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Ala. The Toros and Sacramento State play a single game today, a double-header Friday and the fourth and fifth games, if necessary, Saturday. Dominguez Hills, the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. champion, is 31-19-1. Sacramento, an independent, is 37-21.

Both had rocky finishes. Dominguez Hills got the help it needed from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which took two out of three from Cal Poly Pomona, then won a makeup game against UC Riverside to boost the Toros to their first championship. Dominguez Hills finished 19-11 in the CCAA, just ahead of Pomona (18-12) and Riverside (17-12). Sacramento lost six of its last 10 games.

The consolation for Dominguez Hills is that the survivor of the tough CCAA has won eight of the last 12 national titles. Sacramento is making its seventh tournament appearance but has never won a regional title.

The winner of the Western Region will play the winner of the South Region, either Florida Southern or University of Tampa.