TOROS : Toros Open CCAA Play at Chapman

With the pitching staff finally shaping up like he thought it would, Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball Coach George Wing is breathing a little easier as the Toros open California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play this afternoon at 2:30 against Chapman College.

Today’s game, the first of a three-game series between the teams, will be played at Hart Park in Orange. The teams play Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Carson and return Saturday to Hart Park for a 1 p.m. game.

Dominguez Hills is 4-5 and Chapman is 3-7. Each of the seven teams in the conference start league play with sub-.500 records, prompting Wing to suggest that there is no clear-cut front-runner in the CCAA race.

“It will be pretty even, although people are saying UC Riverside has an edge,” he said.

This is the first of four consecutive weekend series that Wing believes could shape the CCAA race. Next weekend the Toros play hot-hitting Cal Poly Pomona, followed by series with UC Riverside and Cal State Los Angeles.

“I feel good about our pitching staff,” Wing said. “It’s settling in, as I had hoped it would earlier. I just hope we can do the job in that small ballpark Chapman has.”

Two weeks ago Wing wasn’t as optimistic. Although he stuck to his preseason prediction that the pitching staff would come around, he began to reassess how effective it might be after the staff allowed an average of 13 runs through its first five games.

But things have gotten better. In the past four games (including a game against Sonoma State that was suspended while tied, 2-2), the Toros have allowed a total of 14 runs.

Vince Aguilar, a 6-foot-2 senior southpaw, had a strong outing against Sonoma State. He does not have a decision this year, but is expected to start today. Despite an earned-run average of 6.97, he has allowed only four runs in his past 13 innings. Right-hander Armando Plascencia, who has a 4.21 ERA, is expected to pitch Friday. Wing said right-hander Mark Tranberg (2-1) will start Saturday.

Tranberg, a transfer from Chapman College, pitched three scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory over Southern California College on Tuesday, lowering his ERA to 2.01.

Plascencia replaced Jay Chadwick in the rotation. Chadwick, who had been a member of Wing’s three-man starting rotation, is being moved to the bullpen. According to Wing, Plascencia earned a starting role after he pitched “well in relief” in a 6-2 loss to USC last week.

The Toros need good pitching, according to Wing, because the team is not producing a lot of runs, despite its .319 team batting average. A year ago Dominguez Hills set a school record by batting .299 as a team.

The Toros also have the hottest hitter in the conference in first baseman Darrell Conner. Conner is batting .607 with four doubles, two triples and two home runs. Another top hitter is John Otte, a transfer from El Camino College. He is batting .433.

Cary Windes, a transfer from Fresno State, is batting .400. Eric Shibley has hit safely in eight consecutive games.

“We are not very explosive offensively at this stage,” Wing said. “So I’m looking at a series (against Chapman) that will be in the four to five runs a game range.”