By Julia McIntyre Staff Reporter
California State University, Dominguez Hills softball went 3-1 during two doubleheaders against California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt and Pace University. As the Toros reach the middle of the regular season, they continue to stampede through the 2023 season.
The first game against Humboldt on March 3, ended 7-0, behind CSUDH pitcher Alyssa Olague’s four innings of no run, no hit ball. Those four innings were a season-high for the Toro since the opener of the Concordia Kickoff Classic back in February.
When asked what strategies she used to throw a no-hitter, Olague said, “To be successful in the game, us pitchers know to attack the zone and start ahead. We just have to trust our spin and hit our spots. The main mindset is to trust that your defense has our back behind us.”
While Olague kept the Jacks from making contact on the diamond, her teammate Jay Ross reached three season highs within the first game against Humboldt. She played a game full of personal records with three hits, one double and three runs scored. The junior, Ross said her overall plan was to play her normal game. Thinking back on her season-high accomplishments, she said, “It felt good, but overall it was a team effort.” Ross said her personal goals for the remainder of the season are to stay consistent and help her team win each game.
The Toros were not as successful in the following game against Humboldt. They fell short, 2-0, and their next two games were rained out.
“Our motto is to never lose twice in a row…we knew we needed to take that loss personally,” said Olague. When asked if the Toros took any extra motivation or aggression to the table against Pace University the next weekend, Olague said, “We came out with that competitive mindset against Pace and wanted to protect our home field.”
The Toros’ competitive game plan resulted in a sweep of the Setters when they faced off on Mar. 12. Sophomores, Alex Davis and Kaylee Hull, both hit home runs during the fourth inning of the first game. CSUDH’s offense and defense were on a roll as junior Sara Bhatt pitched a perfect three innings with a season-high five strikeouts. Olague snagged the win for the Toros in the scorebook with a final score of 4-1.
In the final game of the series, the Toros used their comeback skills to deliver a 5-1 victory. The Toros earned all their runs in the last couple of innings after falling behind 1-0 after the first inning. Seniors Alani Nguyen, and Kianna Abelleraand junior, Alyssa Yslas all recorded RBI hits to help the Toros improve to 13-6 on the season.
As the season rages on, Olague said the team’s goal stays consistent, “It is to continue to push to create an elite dynasty as a team…we play the game with joy and always compete with a ‘mamba mentality’ [and] ‘play the invisible opponent’…With doing so, we will bring home the wins and continue to improve.”
