Cal State Dominguez Hills’ baseball team, holding...

Cal State Dominguez Hills’ baseball team, holding a three-game lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. with seven games left, can determine its fate as it plays four games against its closest contenders. The Toros, who have won 23 of their last 28 games and 11 of 13, are 17-6 in the CCAA and held a three-game lead over Cal Poly Pomona after Tuesday’s 2-0 shutout of Pomona. Cal State Northridge is three games behind the Toros. Dominguez Hills, 33-12 overall, is rated fourth nationally in Division II. The Toros play a 2:30 p.m. game Friday at Northridge and are at Cal State Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Junior right-hander Joe Cortez gave the Toros a lift last weekend when he pitched his first complete game, a 12-3 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, to raise his record to 5-1. The Toros won a second game against Cal Poly, 2-1, when Cal Poly’s pitcher threw a wild pitch on an intentional walk and Jon Beuder scored from third. Junior Chris Haslock made the lead stand to earn his seventh save. Senior Mike Aspray got the win to improve to 8-3. Beuder, the team’s hottest batter, has hit in 18 of the last 20 games to move into contention for the CCAA batting title with a .376 average. He leads the conference with five triples. Fred Hanker entered the week with 50 runs batted in, six short of his school record. Over the last three seasons Hanker has knocked in 156 runs in 150 games.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills golf team takes its last shot at a postseason bid Monday and Tuesday in the Division II West Regional Tournament at La Contenta Golf Club in Spring Valley. This is the third of three heavily weighted tournaments to determine NCAA postseason bids. In the first two, the Toros placed fourth and second out of four teams, so they need a strong showing. The Toros won three of four matches last week but placed second to Cal State Northridge in an invitational. The national tournament bids will be made by Wednesday. Senior Brian Carson leads the Toros with a 76 average.

Loyola Marymount University, smarting from another three-game sweep by Pepperdine, plays a three-game series in San Diego this week in West Coast Athletic Conference baseball action. The Lions entered the week 32-18-1 overall but are 6-10-1 in the WCAC, tied with the University of San Diego for fifth place. The Lions play a 2:30 p.m. game Friday and a noon double-header Saturday at San Diego, which is 28-18 overall. Both are two games out of second place with six to play. Pepperdine, which swept six games from Loyola, has clinched the title.

Loyola continues to score runs, batting .339 with seven players hitting .349 or higher. Travis Tarchione leads the regulars with a .384 average, followed by Chris Donnels and Carl Fraticelli at .358, Don Sparks at .355, Miah Bradbury at .352 and Jim McAnany at .351. Outfielder Fred Tuttle, batting .326 overall, has heated up in league play and is hitting .426 in WCAC games. He was 5 for 9 with a homer against Pepperdine. Donnels leads the power categories with 14 homers, 18 doubles and 68 runs batted in. McAnany hit his career-best ninth homer last week and has 41 RBI.