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SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay team returns to the road this weekend to continue its 16–game CCAA trip with a four–game set at Chico State (15–10, 13–7 CCAA) Friday and Saturday (Mar. 29–30).

The Otters (18–13, 11–9) enter the trip playing some of their best softball of the season. They currently ride a season–high six–game winning streak and have matched their season high by winning seven of their last eight.
Included in their current six–game streak is a four–game sweep at Cal State San Bernardino March 15–16 that put the Otters right back in the thick of the CCAA race. This weekend provides a chance to climb even higher as they face one of the teams directly in front of them in the standings.

There's been little to seperate the Otters and Wildcats through the years as they enter the weekend tied 17–17 in the all–time series. The teams split six games last season, including a pair of games in the CCAA Tournament. The Wildcats do hold a 6–4 edge in games played in Chico, though, perhaps unsurprisingly, the teams split the last series they played there in 2011.

CSUMB returns home to host Montana State–Billings for a doubleheader April 2 before traveling to Turlock for the Easton Tournament of Champions April 5–7. 

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OTTERS ON A ROLL: The Otters enter the week riding a six–game winning streak, tied for the seventh longest win streak in school history. The record is a 10–game streak set from Feb. 17 to Mar. 11, 2012. 

REINHARDT CLOSING IN ON RECORD: P/INF Cori Reinhardt's (Riverside Poly) hot start is nearing record–breaking territory. She enters the Chico State series having reached safely in 32 consecutive games (including all 31 this season) and is now just two games shy of the CSUMB record of 34 games set by Shae Olds in 2009. Reinhardt's streak is the longest in the CCAA this season. The conference does compile this record to know where it would stand in CCAA history.

MAKING A RUN AT THE RECORD: Senior CF Angelina Orozco (Clovis East HS) continues to close in on the CSUMB career record for runs, entering the week with 134 runs. She leads the teams with 29 runs this season and needs 16 more to break Jamie Moon's mark of 154 set from 2009–12.

Senior RF Skyler Valdivia (Beaumont HS) enters the week with 98 runs and needs two to become just the third player in Otter history to score 100 career runs.

I'LL HAVE THE RIBEYE, WELL DONE: One season after former Otter Nina Villanueva set the CCAA record for RBIs in one season (69), Cori Reinhardt has picked up where she left off, entering the week challenging for the CCAA lead with 35 RBIs. She's on pace to finish the regular season with 62 RBIs.

SPEED KILLS: Skyler Valdivia is a perfect 9–for–9 in stolen base attempts so far in 2013. Her nine stolen bases already rank No. 10 on the CSUMB single season list.

CLOSING IN ON 200: Angelina Orozco enters the week No. 4 on CSUMB career hit list with 189 hits. She is looking to become just the third player in Otter history to collect 200 hits. Ashlee Trotter holds the record with 239 hits and Jamie Moon ranks No. 2 with 225 hits.

LOW HITTERS: While there hasn't been a no–hitter pitched by an Otter in the early going, both Cory Reinhardt and freshman Lindsey Clarkson (Fresno/Central HS) are both mastering low–hit performances. Reinhardt has tossed five complete games allowing four or fewer hits, including a one–hitter in a 10–0 defeat of Holy Names on Feb. 10. Clarkson, meanwhile, has four such games to her credit, including a one–hitter vs. Dominican University in which she fanned 10 Penguins in just five innings.

HAVE MERCY: The Otters tied the school record with 10 run–rule wins (leading by eight or more runs after five innings) in 2012. The 2013 Otters already have seven such wins through the first 31 games.

WALK–OFF WINS: The Otters have earned six walk–off wins already this season. Four of them have come via run–rule. The other two were a 3–2, 10–inning win over Hawaii–Hilo (Feb. 11) and an 8–7 win over Cal State Stanislaus (Feb. 15).