COLLEGES / IRENE GARCIA : Toros’ Best Hitter Wants to Be a Pitcher

Ariel Martin was expected to be one of Cal State Dominguez Hills’ top pitchers this season, but so far he hasn’t pitched an inning.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Martin, a graduate of Crenshaw High and a University of La Verne transfer, has turned out to be the Toros’ best hitter.

In Tuesday’s 12-9 win over Chapman College, Martin went three for six with a double and four runs batted to extend his hitting streak to 21 games.

Martin can break the school record of 22 games when the Toros (13-8, 5-3 in California Collegiate Athletic Assn) play a two-game series at Cal State Stanislaus today and Saturday.

“The record thing does put extra pressure but I try to ignore it,” Martin said.

Martin, 22, has a strategy to keep the hitting streak alive.

“I’ve always kept this in my mind,” he said. “I made up a little thing in my head. I tell myself ‘Cal State Dominguez Hills has just given you a check for $1 million. But you only get it if you hit doubles, triples and home runs.’ ”

Martin is third on the team in batting with a .387 average. He has 21 RBIs, eight doubles and two home runs.

Martin was a first baseman in high school and at La Verne. He batted .235 as a college freshman when the Leopards went undefeated in the NCAA Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He was primarily a pinch hitter his sophomore year.

“I left because it was such a small school,” Martin said. “I wanted a chance to branch out and take on better competition and maybe get better exposure.”

Besides Dominguez Hills, Martin considered transferring to Cal Poly Pomona, UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton. He picked Dominguez Hills because Coach George Wing promised playing time.

Martin has pitched only during practices but is hopeful of pitching in a game. He pitched sporadically in high school and during the summer with the Pomona Browns of the L.A. Wooden Bat League.

Martin says the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners have expressed interest in him as a pitcher.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I really love pitching,” Martin said. “I have not pitched in a game this year, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

Although the Loyola Marymount women’s basketball team finished last in the West Coast Conference with a 5-9 record, the Lions’ overall record of 14-12 was the team’s best record since a 17-11 mark in 1988-89.

Amy Lundquist, a 6-foot-5 center, was named the WCC’s freshman of the year. She averaged 11.6 points, eight rebounds and 3.4 blocks a game.

Lundquist also set a Loyola single-season record for blocked shots (88).

Junior forward Sheri Brown, a transfer from Fresno State, was Loyola’s only All-WCC selection. She led the league in rebounding (10.3 points a game) and the team in scoring at 16.2 points and steals at 2.5.

Senior guard Jamie Jesko finished her Loyola career in the top five in steals (second with 195), assists (third with 260), rebounds (fourth with 452) and scoring (fifth with 827 points).

Notes

Greg Bistline, who served as Cal State Dominguez Hills associate athletic director since 1989, was recently named to the same position at UC Irvine. Bistline will work with former Toro athletic director Dan Guerrero, who was named Irvine athletic director last year. Louis Murdock, Dominguez Hills vice president for student affairs, will serve as interim athletic director until the position is filled. . . . Bassirou Niang, a 6-foot-7 forward from Harbor College, and Kevin Swindler, a 6-foot point guard from Gardena High, have made unwritten commitments to play basketball at Dominguez Hills next year. . . . Senior first baseman Melissa Punch leads the Dominguez Hills softball team (7-8-1, 3-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.) in batting with a .462 average. She has 18 hits, four doubles and eight runs batted in.