Baslow Belts in Game-Winner as No. 24 Toros Take 11-4 Regional Opener Over No. 30 Wildcats

Box Score

COMPTON -- The No. 24 Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros forced the No. 30 Wildcats of Chico State into the loser's bracket of the NCAA Division II West Regional as they grabbed an 11-4 decision fueled by the solid hitting of Andrew Baslow, who belted the game-winner, a 2RBI bomb in the fifth to give the Toros their first-ever game one win in the regional tournament since 1987.

Not only grabbing their first ever win in the regional tournament since 1987, the Toros handed the Wildcats a first as well, as for the first time in ten years the 'Cats suffered a tournament opening loss.

Starting in action, lefty hurler Kody Kurowski more than took care of business in grabbing his ninth win of the season in a 7.2-inning effort, holding the 'Cats to four runs on seven hits with four Ks.

Kurowski is also still-prefect against Chico, going 3-0 with a save in his career.

The Toros started things off right from the get-go, grabbing two runs in the first with Kurowski facing only ten batters in the following three frames.

In their biggest showcase on the night, the 'Cats grabbed three runs in the fourth with three doubles, including a 2RBI blast from Adrian Bringas

With a 3-2 deficit and two down, Baslow came up huge in the fifth after Carlos Leyva drew a walk, belting a first-pitch offering well over left to bring in the go-ahead run and eventual game-winner.

Two frames later the Toros secured four more on the board, highlighted by a 2RBI single from Kevin Pillar.

Table-setter Leyva also played a huge role in win, scoring four times while connecting for two hits in five plate appearances.

Abel Medina ended the scoring for the Toros with a 2RBI double in the eighth, closing out a 2-of-5 effort on the day.

Closing for the Toros, Michael Cruz has one of his best outings to date, facing four batters with two strikeouts in the ninth.

The Toros, now 41-18 overall, will face off again tomorrow against the No. 1 Tritons of UC San Diego for some CCAA Tournament deja vu, with first pitch at 6:00pm, after UCSD routed fourth-seeded Hawai'i Pacific, 12-0, in the early game.

The game will be broadcasted live on the Toro Sports Network here.

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