NOTES : Toros Nine Learn a Sad Lesson: “Some Things Are Just Meant to Be, Some Aren’t”

When Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball Coach Andy Lopez looks back in his scrapbook, the item that will sting from this year’s Division II World Series will be LOB.

Box score readers know this as left on base. When Dominguez Hills lost a double-header last week and was eliminated, the Toros left 25 runners. In the final game against Wright State, the Toros loaded the bases in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings and came up with one only run.

The box score, however, doesn’t completely tell the story.

“No excuses,” Lopez said. “Some things are meant to be, some aren’t.”

Playing in Montgomery, Ala., the Toros lost to home team Troy State, 6-2, before an overflow crowd of about 6,000. An early five-run inning was the difference. “Those were some adverse situations,” Lopez said. “They were giving Troy a standing ovation every time they came off the field. But if anything, our guys were excited to play. We had one bad inning. I was very proud of the way they handled the crowd.”

The Toros had to come right back and play Wright State. They lost, 5-2, but Lopez said it wasn’t a case of playing poorly. In the seventh inning, with bases loaded, Chris Plank hit a liner to center that was caught on the dive. In the eighth, with bases loaded, Jon Beuder hit a savage line drive that knocked the pitcher off the mound. However, he gloved it and converted a double play. In the ninth, again with bases loaded, a Toro lined a shot that the first baseman dove for, caught and turned into another double play.

“Most of the season we lived on pretty good pitching, real good defense and timely hitting. This time we kind of came up a little short,” Lopez said. “We hit the ball hard, we hit the ball as hard as you can hit it in an RBI situation. One almost kills the pitcher, two diving catches. We just came up short in that they didn’t fall in for us. For 43 games they had fallen in.”

For that reason, Lopez said he won’t feel disappointed for this team.

“I hope I face this kind of disappointment every year,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t want to diminish what these guys accomplished. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. To win 43 games with our schedule and our conference is an accomplishment.”

Toro Trivia: Assistant coach Earl Frishman was an assistant at Loyola Marymount last year, meaning he went to the Division I World Series in 1986 and the Division II Series this year. Lopez and assistant Steve Boaz were making their first NCAA World Series appearances.

The Toros won their World Series opener on a Saturday, 10-7, over Columbus College of Georgia. That gave them a record of 15-2 this year on Saturdays. Sundays weren’t as kind. The only games the Toros played this season on Sunday were the World Series double-header.

Dominguez Hills right-hander Mike Aspray and outfielder Jon Beuder were named first-team All-Americans, among six players from the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. named to the first team. Beuder finished with a school-record .364 batting average.

Loyola Marymount University’s men’s basketball team will make trips to St. John’s, Oregon State and Marquette in its 1987-88 preconference schedule. The Lions will also play at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and at Cal State Long Beach in nonleague road games.

The Lions will open the season in the Joe Lapchick Tournament on Nov. 28-29 at St. John’s in New York City. The tournament includes Harvard and Tennessee Tech. Loyola’s nonconference home games in December include University of the Pacific, Brooklyn College, Loyola of Chicago and Holy Cross.

The Lions open West Coast Athletic Conference play Jan. 15 at home against defending champion University of San Diego. They finish the regular season March 2 at Pepperdine. The WCAC Tournament will be held on one weekend at Santa Clara.

Loyola’s women’s schedule includes the Hawaii Tournament in early December and preconference home games against UC Santa Barbara, Weber State, Hawaii, Dartmouth, Wyoming, Colorado State, Cal Poly Pomona and Columbia. The Lions open WCAC play Jan. 14 at San Diego.

Around the Horn: Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball star William Alexander was named male athlete of the year in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Alexander, a four-time all-CCAA pick, set the conference scoring record in leading the Toros to the CCAA title. The award was made by conference sports information directors. . . . The Olympias Girls Development League senior basketball team won the Southern California Pacific AAU/Junior Olympic Tournament to qualify for the National AAU Tournament at Clovis, N. M., starting July 2. The Olympias team includes Lisa Leslie of Morningside, Mandy Hannah of Compton and Tasha Bradley of Pasadena Muir. Coach John Anderson is seeking corporate or private donations to help pay expenses. . . . Loyola Marymount baseball star Chris Donnels was named the third baseman on the All-District 8 team. In final West Coast Athletic Conference stats Donnels again led in runs batted in with 75 and was second in home runs with 16, one behind the leader. He was also second in doubles with 18, two off the lead, and ninth in batting at .365. . . . Mica Lewis, sophomore shortstop at Cal State Los Angeles out of Westchester High, was named to the All-California Collegiate Athletic Assn. first team. Lewis hit .332 while leading the Eagles in runs (57) and stolen bases (23). He was second in hits (66) and walks (33) and his runs were the second highest season total in school history.