Toros Drop Baseball Season Opener at Cal State L.A.
February 1, 2007

Courtesy Cal State L.A. Sports Information Office

Complete Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Jeff Carroll hit the first homer of the new season and the Golden Eagles put up five runs in the eighth inning as Cal State L.A. pulled off a come-from-behind victory over the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros at Reeder Field on Thursday afternoon. The 10-6 win, the first of head coach Pat Shine’s career, was the 2007 season opener for both teams.

With Kyle Owsley on the mound for Cal State L.A., the Toros started the scoring with a two-out single by Chris Hunter. Houston Hernandez and Cody Puckett scored on the play, while former Golden Eagle outfielder Mateo Marquez was tagged out for the third out of the inning.

Cal State Dominguez Hills would add two more runs to lead 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth. In the sixth, the Golden Eagles’ bats showed life as new Cal State L.A. centerfielder Kurt Crowell scored on Jeff Carroll’s double to left. Jack Roche advanced Carroll to third with a single. Carroll would score on the next play as Fernando Franco flied out to center. The Golden Eagles trailed, 4-2.

With their deficit cut in half, John Mitchell took the hill to start his second full inning of work in the seventh. Mitchell gave up a run off of a David Hicks single. Puckett was forced out at second, but Jerit Coleman was able to score from third. Hicks would go on to score an unearned run later in the inning to give the Toros the 6-2 lead.

Tommy Horning and Adam Klein started off the bottom of the seventh by drawing consecutive walks. Matt Winkelman struck out swinging and Crowell flied out to left. With runners on first and second, Carroll stepped up to the plate and knocked a three-run homer out to center. That was Carroll’s 14th homer of his career and the first of the new season.

Down 6-5 going into their half of the eighth, the Golden Eagles lit up the scoreboard and put up five runs. Pinch hitter Mike Diaz singled home Henry Contreras who had walked earlier in the inning. Diaz was replaced at first by pinch runner Darrick Hale who eventually scored the go-ahead run. Horning drew his second walk of the game and scored on Crowell’s second hit. With the bases loaded, Carroll strode to the plate and knocked a double to right, scoring Winkelman and Klein.

Arturo Reyes entered the game in the ninth and shut the Toros down, allowing only one batter to reach base via a walk. The Golden Eagles celebrated their first win of the 2007 season as John Mitchell picked up his first win in a Cal State L.A. uniform. David Leyva suffered the loss, his first of the year.

Both teams return to action on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. as the series continues at Reeder Field on the Cal State L.A. campus.