Fast CCAA Start Brings Optimism to Dominguez Hills Baseball Team

Rain washed out baseball practice Wednesday at Cal State Dominguez Hills, but it failed to put a damper on Coach George Wing’s spirits.

For the first time since the final day of the 1987 season, the Toros were alone in first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Better yet, Dominguez Hills made it into the USA Today Top 20 rankings at No. 17 earlier in the week.

Weather permitting, Dominguez Hills opens a three-game series at Cal State L.A. Friday afternoon at 2:30, followed by two games in Carson Saturday beginning at noon. It will be the Toros’ third CCAA series in four weeks (another three-game set with Cal Poly Pomona was rained out earlier).

Against the last-place Golden Eagles (9-18 overall, 2-4 in CCAA play), the Toros (10-8-1, 5-2) will be attempting to maintain or increase their one-game lead over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Wing said he has been pleased with the Toros’ early play.

“We haven’t made too much of (being in first place),” he said. “We have to do our jobs against L.A. This won’t mean a doggone thing if we drop to fourth or five or six as we have in the past by the end of the season.”

The last time Dominguez Hills came close to leading the conference was in 1989, Wing’s rookie season. But after a 2-0 start, the Toros lost six consecutive games and eight of 10 to drop out of contention.

That was in sharp contrast to the team’s last championship year, 1987, when Dominguez Hills won the West Regional and advanced to the Division II World Series. The Toros finished 43-15 overall and 23-7 in CCAA play.

Several factors have contributed to the Toros’ 5-2 league start, most notably that Dominguez Hills played so many of its doubleheaders at home during the first half of the CCAA season. Wing also said that several CCAA schools have been affected by sweeping coaching and lineup changes. Only Dominguez Hills, San Luis Obispo (11-10) and preseason favorite UC Riverside (11-9) were above .500 entering this week’s play.

“Frankly, the way I did my recruiting has helped,” he said. “I didn’t go out and get a couple of big (home-run hitters), I took players who could execute.”

Wing decided to make pitching a priority because the Toros’ wind-swept diamond does not favor batters. Dominguez Hills has hit only five home runs.

First-year pitching coach John Verhoeven said: “We have five, maybe six pitchers who have the ability to pitch on the Division I level.” However, Verhoeven said Dominguez Hills needs to improve its bullpen.

After a slow start, the Toros have lowered their earned-run average to 3.64--a school-record pace. In conference games, the Toro pitching staff has a 1.80 ERA.

Starting pitchers Armando Plascencia, who will open the series against Cal State L.A., Mark Tranberg and lefty Vince Aguilar have a combined record of 7-2. “We have a good pitching staff, a confident pitching staff,” Wing said, “But, as I tell the guys in practice, we can get better. . . . as a team and individually.”

The Toros have struggled at the plate in recent games. The team’s batting average has slumped 14 points, although it is still at a healthy .291. But in each game a new player seems to come through in the clutch.

After a 7-5 loss to UC Riverside on March 7, the Toros bounced back to take two games from the Highlanders the following day. Junior left fielder Ernie Soto doubled in two runs in a 3-1 victory in the opener, then center fielder John Otte went two for three, stole a base, scored a run and drove in another in a 7-3 victory in the nightcap.

The Toros, who have failed to finish above .500 in Wing’s two previous seasons, are having a good time right now.

“It’s a good feeling to come to the ballpark,” he said. “It’s fun and this is the first year I have experienced that here.”