By Daniel Giovati
Staff Writer
As the seasons wind down for the Toro baseball and softball squads, the best that can be said is there have been some superlative individual performances and some marked improvement, particularly for the softballers. But the teams’ respective playoff droughts are all but a certainty to continue.
The baseball squad is 13-29 overall and 10-26 in conference this season. That is nearly an identical record to what the team was at this point last season. The Toros wrapped up 2017 losing their final 10 games. Barring that ignominious repeat, the team will finish with a better record, but it still puts them in last place in the south division of the California College Athletic Association, seven games behind in the race for the sixth playoff slot, with eight games remaining.
CSUDH has struggled in all facets of the game. The pitching staff has a collective ERA of 6.55, which has not been enough to keep them in many games this season.
Opposing teams are hitting a robust .303 against the Toros. Teams are not only hitting for a high average against CSUDH, but the long ball has hurt them as well. CSUDH has allowed 23 home runs, the third most in the 12-team conference. Pitchers have not helped themselves out this season; they have allowed 210 walks, the second most in the conference.
Poor pitching combined with a team batting average of .246 tells the story of CSUDH’s underwhelming 2018 campaign. The team has lacked discipline at the plate. Their 360 strikeouts are the most in the conference and they are eight in the conference in walks.
Despite their offensive struggles as a team, CSUDH has had some standout individual performances at the plate.
The team’s most consistent hitters have been sophomore outfielder Stephen Kish, who is hitting a scolding .307 on the year. Not trailing far behind is senior first baseman Kevin Lugo is raking with a .297 batting average.
Junior designated hitter Dalton Duarte and senior Esteban Ortega have supplied the power for the Toros this season. Duarte has nine home runs and Ortega has seven long balls combined with a team-high 28 RBIs.
Left-handed junior starting pitcher Rigo Fernandez has been the savior of the Toro staff. Fernandez boasts an impressive resume of a 3.61 ERA, a .216 batting average against and a stunning 72 strikeouts in just 52.1 innings of work.
CSUDH, which has missed the playoffs the past three seasons, will play its final two home games in a doubleheader against Cal Poly Pomona on May 5.
For the CSUDH softball team, it’s 15-33 overall record with two series left to play means it has already tallied seven more wins than all of last season. But its 11-25 conference means it will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Although the team has had its struggles offensively, the Toros are hitting a respectable .267 as a team.
The offensive production has been lacking in many other key categories. Of the 11 teams in their conference, CSUDH is second to last in hits and last in runs and RBIs.
The pitching has struggled just as much as the offense for the lady Toros.
Opponents are hitting .318 against the Toros, the third highest average allowed in the conference. CSUDH has allowed the third highest run total and the fourth most hits in the conference. The team ERA of 4.69 stands at second to last in the conference.
It has not all been bad for CSUDH this season. There have been some fantastic numbers put up by Toro players.
The offense has been led all year long by two juniors, infielder Jazmin Guzman and catcher Rachel Sandoval. Guzman is hitting an unheard of .342 and Sandoval is not far behind with a .329 average and a team-leading 28 RBIs.
The story on the mound this season has been all about senior Alyssa Valinches. Valinches has a 3.60 ERA, 119 strikeouts, and has tossed an incredible 18 complete games.
The Toros close out the year at home with a four-game series against UCSD on April 27.
