After posting a regular season record that landed them in fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings, few were looking at the CSUDH Toro softball team as one that was poised for a deep postseason run. Few outside of the Toro dugout, that is.

“From our very first series, we started getting together and growing as a team,” says sophomore infielder Amara Labonog. “We always had the love for each other. I never doubted that we were going to do something good.”

That confidence proved to be well-founded. Once the postseason started, the Toros kicked their play into a higher gear, developing a relentless momentum that led them all the way to the Championship Series of the NCAA Division II Softball World Series. They ended up losing in the finals to Oklahoma’s Rogers State University, but created a lifetime of memories and historic accomplishments along the way.

Different moments resonated with each player, but everyone had a favorite story to tell. For sophomore outfielder Alex Davis, a mid-season trip to play San Francisco State stood out. “We swept them, all the food we ate was amazing, and spending time with everybody was great,” she says. “One of our teammates was a transfer from there and it felt like everybody was playing for her. That was a representation of what our team is about.”

After a hit-and-miss regular season, the Toros got off to a slow start to their postseason, falling short of the CCAA tournament final after losing to CSU Monterey Bay. The squad was selected as an at-large team for the NCAA West Regionals, and that’s where their Cinderella run kicked into high gear.

The NCAA Super Regional had been the end of the Toros’ run in previous seasons, but this time they broke through by defeating CSU San Marcos two out of three games. That win was the highlight of the year for many Toros, including powerhouse infielder Raquel Jaime. “Winning the super regionals was pretty amazing,” she says. “It’s pretty tough to top that. The team had such a connection and chemistry. We all felt like we were going to do great things going into the World Series.”

The Toros entered the eight-team World Series tournament as the eighth seed. The underdog Toros showed that they meant business in their first game, handily defeating top-seeded University of Texas at Tyler 5-1. That victory was Labonog’s favorite of the season. “Beating the number one team, we showed what we came to do,” she says. “Everyone doubted that we would do anything, but we were coming in hot. That win really stepped up our energy and our will to win.”

After a loss to Rogers State, the Toros won elimination games against Seton Hill and North Georgia, which put them into the best-of-three title series. They ended up losing two straight to a red-hot Rogers State team, but their status as national runners-up was the best-ever finish by a CSUDH softball team.

Jaime turned in a performance for the ages at the World Series, winning the Most Outstanding Player award despite the Toros’ second-place finish. Jaime went 16-for-27 at the plate, batting .593 and shattering the tournament final site records for hits (16) and doubles (6).

Jaime wasn’t even aware that she was breaking the hits record during the tournament. “I had no idea until a couple weeks after. It felt pretty awesome, and is going to be a pretty tough record to beat…but this year I’m going to break it again,” she grins.

Pitcher Alyssa Olague was another star of the Toros’ run, starting four games in the World Series and finishing the season just one strikeout shy of the program’s single-season record. “Last year was an amazing experience,” she says. “Even though we didn’t get everything we wanted, it started a fire in our hearts that we want to do even better this year.”

After last year’s run, the 2023 Toros aren’t going to sneak up on anyone. They’ll enter next season as one of the top teams in the nation, a target for every team they run up against. They’re ready for the challenge, though. “I like it,” says Jaime. “The team and I thrive under pressure, and that’s a big part of competing in this game. It’s fun. Bring it on.”

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