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CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

Athlete

Toro Baseball Aiming for Consistent Success

February 8, 2023 By Kandis Newman

Toro Baseball Aiming for Consistent Success
Toro All-American infielder Scott Ogrin swings for the fences. 

After a successful post-season run in 2022, CSUDH head baseball coach Tyler Wright has one main goal for the program entering the 2023 season. “Consistently being in the mix for a conference championship is the next step for us as a program.”

“Our goal is to make this three years in a row in which we are a competitive, top team in the in the conference,” he continues. “We’re looking to compete for a conference championship and a conference tournament each and every year going forward.”

Competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), one of the top Division II conferences in the nation, doesn’t come easy. But Wright is confident that he has the team to do it.

2022 was a bit of a breakthrough season for the Toros. After an injury-plagued regular season that saw them finish sixth in the CCAA, the team went on a run in the conference tournament. They defeated national number 28 Chico State and number 10 Cal State Monterey Bay on their way to the championship round.

Although they were ultimately eliminated by Cal Poly Pomona, the tournament proved that the Toros could compete with the best of the CCAA. “It was a good year, something we can build on,” says Wright. “Hopefully, we continue to get better.”

Although the team did lose a few key players to graduation, they return several award-winning position players. Senior infielder Scott Ogrin set a new CSUDH single-season home run record in 2022, knocking 24 balls out of the park–including four during their tournament run. He was named the tournament’s co-MVP, and was recognized as a second-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association at season’s end.

Another key returnee is junior centerfielder Eric Smelko, who won the CCAA Newcomer of the Year award in 2022, as well as being named to the First-Team All-CCAA squad. His season included a team-best 22-game hitting streak, and he led the team with a .357 batting average.

Most of the Toro’s question marks this season revolve around pitching. Having lost most of their top hurlers after last season, Wright has a staff largely comprised of first-year players or transfers. He’s looking for some of the young pitchers to step up once the season gets underway in earnest.

“We’ve had a really competitive fall,” he says. “Everybody threw pretty well, but nobody seemed completely unbeatable. We just need a few guys to step up and be big-time difference makers, but sometimes you don’t find that out until the games really matter.”

The Toros were picked to finish fourth in this season’s preseason coaches’ poll, and Wright says that they’ll be competing with the usual suspects for this year’s crown. “Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State have probably won 15 of the last conference championships,” he says. “We’re trying to break into that mold this year, to be up there with those established programs. They’re expected to be good again, and I’m sure they will be.”

Win or lose, Coach Wright is proud of the way his players reflect CSUDH’s students and mission. “We play very hard and our student-athletes are the same as every student here,” he says. “We’ve got a lot of first-generation student-athletes and a lot of kids that really work hard to be good at what they do. Our guys are working hard to represent the university the right way.”

The CSUDH baseball team opens their home schedule at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, Feb. 9, against Concordia at Toro Field. They also play Concordia at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, Feb. 10, at Toro Field.

Toro Men’s Soccer Ready to Take Next Step

August 18, 2022 By Kandis Newman

CSUDH defender Alpha Sowe.
CSUDH team captain Alpha Sowe in action. (photo by Jena Rouser)

When CSUDH men’s soccer coach Eddie Soto was hired in April 2019, it was with one goal in mind: returning the team to the heights it reached in the 2000s, when the squad won a pair of NCAA Division II national titles. Despite a 2020 season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Toros are proceeding right on schedule.

The 2021 team finished the season with a 10-6-1 record, including a pair of tough losses to eventual national champion Cal State Los Angeles. “For us, it was a success,” says Soto, who previously served as head coach at the University of San Francisco and assistant coach at UCLA. “We got to the semi-finals of our conference tournament, were ranked as high as number 13 in the nation at one point, and went on a six-game winning streak. There were a lot of good moments.”

“But in all honesty, we weren’t ready for all that,” he continues. “We were a really young team, and we didn’t know how to handle it. Then we went through a COVID spell for a few weeks and were missing starters for some games. It hurt our rhythm a little bit, but I think that more than that, our team was just a bit too immature. With any program, you need to go through those moments to grow, learn, and build character, and I think we’re stronger for it.”

Soto is bullish at the prospects for this year’s Toros. “We did a really good job with our recruiting,” he says. “Because of COVID, there was a lot of talent out there that was being overlooked. We found some really good kids, mature kids, and hungry kids. We’re excited about the group that we have. We’ve got something to build on. We’re happy to see how they came into camp. They’re fit, they’re strong, and they’re sharp.”

A good recruiting year has given the Toros something they’ve lacked in recent seasons: depth. “When you look at Cal State LA and how they won the championship, they had a lot of depth,” says Soto. “They were able to keep a high tempo within their games because of that. It wore teams down. It wore us down. I feel very happy to say that we now have depth and we’re now going to be able to do the same to our opponents.”

The Toros will have their work cut out for them this season, as the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is once again one of the strongest around. Cal State LA is starting the season as the number one team in national polls, with Cal Poly Pomona ranking fifth. “We’re in the hardest conference in America,” says Soto. “But if we want to be higher ranked than LA and Pomona, if we want to win championships, we have to beat those teams.”

Team captain Alpha Sowe isn’t shy about his goals for the season: “Win the NCAA championship.” Sowe arrived here as a freshman in 2020–just in time for the pandemic to wipe out the entire season. The defender/midfielder is confident in the team’s chances this year. “It’s a tough conference, with a lot of tough competition. But I feel like everyone’s together and working. Hard work is everything. If we work hard, I think we’re going win it.”

Soto says there’s no secret about the style of play he would like the Toros to employ. “I’m someone who likes to take care of the ball. I’m a very technical coach, very possession-oriented. I love to be dynamic, but one thing I’ve learned over the years is that it’s important for us to be extremely disciplined and tough defensively. We like the ball and we like to go forward, but I’m putting a huge emphasis on what we’re doing defensively and being disciplined. Defense wins championships, they say, and it’s a true statement.”

The coach wants CSUDH students to share in the excitement around this year’s team. “We’re a fun group to watch,” says Soto. “I would love to get more student support. Come watch an exciting soccer game–very attack-minded, with a lot of goals. We’re going to be a successful program to be behind, so I hope people come out, be part of the Toro Nation and part of what we’re going to do.”

The CSUDH men’s soccer team begins their season against Academy of Art on Thursday, August 25, at 6:00 p.m. at Toro Stadium. Their complete schedule is available at https://gotoros.com/sports/mens-soccer/schedule/2022.

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