The Toro softball team suffered a tough 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Western Washington University Vikings in Game Three of the NCAA West Super Regional on Wednesday, May 15. The result eliminated CSUDH from the tournament and put an end to another stellar season.
The Toros reached the Super Regional after sweeping through the NCAA Regionals, defeating Concordia University Irvine and Northwest Nazarene University twice. That set up a best-of-three matchup against the Vikings at their home field in Bellingham, Wash.
In Game One, the Toros grabbed an early 3-1 lead after a three-run homer from Kaylee Hull. The blast pushed Hull into first place on the CSUDH career RBI list with 129, breaking Emily McEwen’s record of 127. She ultimately ended the season with 131 runs driven in.
The Vikings clawed back into the game in the late innings, tying the game in the sixth and winning the game in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk that made the final score 4-3.
The teams returned to the field on Wednesday, with the Toros needing to take both ends of a doubleheader to advance in the tournament. CSUDH won the first game 3-2 behind a strong pitching performance from ace Mariah Ramirez.
It all came down to the third and final game. Ramirez crushed a grand slam in the second inning that put the Toros up 4-0. The homer broke the Toro single-season record for long balls, giving Ramirez 21 for the year. The squad extended the lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth inning, but Western Washington whittled the lead down over the final few frames.
The Vikings scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, forcing the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, a solo home run by Western Washington’s Maleah Andrews won the game in a walk-off for the Vikings. It was a tough end to another strong season by the Toros. They finished with a 39-21 record and broke the Toros single-season record for home runs as a team, with 48. The team heads into the off-season looking to replace a host of key starters who will be graduating this semester.
