Toro Softball Is a Rags to Ruetz’s Story : Coach Helps Bring Team Back From Disappointing 1990 Season

A euphoric atmosphere gripped the Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team as it warmed up for the second game of its doubleheader Saturday against UC Riverside. And why not?

The Toros, who finished last in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. at 4-16 and were 29-26-1 overall a year ago, had just defeated previously unbeaten Riverside, 5-1, to extend their winning streak to 10 games.

“We just won our league opener and we beat an unbeaten team!” shouted a team member from the dugout. “Can you believe it? Can you?”

A year ago the answer probably would have been a resounding no. But these are the new-and-improved Toros under third-year Coach Janis Ruetz.

The Toros also won the second game, 2-1, giving them their best start (12-1-1) in school history. Saturday’s sweep also put Dominguez Hills on top of the tough CCAA at 2-0.

Besides their school-record 13-game unbeaten streak, chances of surpassing the school’s single-season record for victories are better than ever. That was established in 1989, Ruetz’s first year as coach, when she guided the Toros into the NCAA Division II regional playoffs. Dominguez Hills finished 35-22-1 overall and 11-8-1 in the CCAA.

The Toros’ only loss in 1991 came in the season opener against Christ College, 3-2. Dominguez Hills tied Division I San Diego State in the fourth game, then started its winning streak.

“The main thing with this team is that we are really close,” said Nicole Stelter, the team’s only third-year player. “In the past we had terrible problems, personality problems. . . .

“We had lots of talent, but it was wasted because people didn’t get along. This year we don’t have as much talent, but we work together so we’re successful.”

Ruetz, who served as an assistant under predecessor Jennifer Gorecki for two years, has a simple explanation for this team’s success.

“Chemistry,” she said. “I think it’s definitely the chemistry this team has that others didn’t have. They work real hard and real good together.”

First-year assistant Deb Cohen agrees. As a center fielder at Dominguez Hills in 1988 and 1989, she has seen the program at its best and its worst.

“This team really jells together,” she said. “There’s always a few select players that are not team players, but there’s no players like that on this team.”

That was evident in Saturday’s league opener. The team chanted “work together, win together,” in pregame huddles.

The Toros also have an improved pitching staff that has limited opponents to a .160 batting average. The two-woman rotation consists of community college transfers Anne Ibarra and Julie Borquez, both right-handers. Ibarra, a junk ball thrower from Mendicino College, set a school record by pitching 41 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run.

The streak was snapped against Cal Baptist last week, but Ibarra still leads the team with a 0.25 earned-run average. The former Mary Star High standout is 6-1-1.

“My major goal is to outsmart batters,” said the 5-foot-1 Ibarra, who believes opponents take her for granted because she’s shorter than most pitchers in the league. “I catch them off guard a lot because I don’t look like an overwhelming or dominating pitcher. . . . Control is more important than speed. I don’t throw as hard as the bigger girls, but I throw where I want. Having good control has really paid off.”

After earning All-CIF and All-Camino Real League honors at Mary Star, Ibarra received a softball scholarship to the University of San Francisco where she pitched for a season. When the school cancelled its softball program the following year she enrolled at Mendicino, where her younger brother Rick is a pitcher for the baseball team.

“She did all of our pitching for us,” Mendicino Coach Catherine Indermill said. “Without a doubt Anne is the best pitcher we’ve ever had. No one else in our conference was as consistent with five different pitches as Anne. She gave us credibility. She’s a real strong person and competitor.”

Indermill said several Northern California schools recruited Ibarra, but she wanted to move back to San Pedro.

“She’s a very smart pitcher and her years of experience show when she’s on the mound,” Ruetz said. “She’s also a real good competitor. She does a lot of mental practice.”

Ibarra is confident the Toros can make the playoffs. She’s heard all about the Toros’ past struggles in CCAA play and says this year will be different.

“This is the most solid defense I’ve ever had,” Ibarra said. “Even at San Francisco, a Division I school, I didn’t have this good a defense. They’re just intense. I’ve never played on a team as intense as this one.”

The Toros are also more balanced than in previous years. Borquez, for example, is the starting center fielder when she’s not pitching. She also bats lead-off. Against Riverside, Borquez improved her record to 6-0 and ERA to 1.26.

“She’s very solid defensively,” Ruetz said. “She’s a fielding pitcher, who moves the ball around. She doesn’t have great speed, but she does a lot of things right.”

Ruetz says the team’s .270 batting average is the best in her five years at Dominguez Hills. Four players--Stelter, Tina Baca, Leticia Carranza and Melissa Acosta--are batting over .300. Defense however, is this team’s forte, according to Ruetz.

“That’s what’s keeping us in a lot of games,” she said. “Without solid defense we couldn’t hold on the way we have.”

Ruetz is clearly excited about the Toros’ early successes, but refuses to predict how they will finish in the five-member CCAA. Dominguez Hills’ chances of winning the conference title improved after powerhouse Cal State Northridge left to compete in Division I this season.

“It should be a dog fight,” Ruetz said. “I think we’ll wait and prove what we can do. I don’t want to toot my horn prematurely.”

If Saturday’s sweep is any indication, Ruetz will have plenty of opportunities to talk about the Toros.