BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2

CHICO, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay softball team finally found the clutch offensive plays it needed late to earn a doubleheader split at Chico State Saturday afternoon. The Otters dropped Game 1 2–1 in 12 innings before rallying for a 5–3 win in the nightcap.

Headlining the day once again was sophomore Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly), who finished the doubleheader 3–for–7 with three walks (one intentional) to run her streak of reaching base safely to 36 games and her hitting streak to eight games. She also pitched more than well enough to win the opener, allowing just one unearned run through 11 2/3 innings before Chico scored the winner with two outs in the 12th.

CSUMB (19–16, 12–12 CCAA) squandered opportunity after opportunity in the opener as the bottom six spots in the batting order simply couldn't produce. After Reinhardt, who reached base five times in six plate appearances in the three hole, the following six batters went 3–for–28 in the game. The Otters stranded 14 runners, including nine in extra innings when they twice loaded the bases but failed to score.

The only Otter run came via Bianca Noriega's (Ventura/Camarillo HS) RBI ground out in the top of the seventh that plated pinch runner Valerie Valdez (Rosamond HS).

Freshman pitcher Lindsey Clarkson (Fresno/Central HS) kept the Chico bats quiet early in Game 2 as the Otter offense continued to search for a breakthrough. It finally came in the fifth inning when a leadoff single by Nikki Rodriguez (San Jose/Evergreen Valley HS) put a spark to the powder keg that produced a 5–run explosion.

The first run came stealthily enough when the Wildcats misplayed Mariah Nisbet's (San Ramon/Ohlone College) sacrifice attempt, Noriega followed with a walk and catcher Kendall Gill (Wilton/UCSB) drove in a run by being hit by a pitch. CSUMB got its second run on a wild pitch and its third on a Vanessa Avila (Dana Point/Santiago Canyon College) knock before Reinhardt capped the rally with a 2–run single to center.

Clarkson, made the five spot stand up despite a late Chico rally. The Wildcats scored a pair in the sixth on a two–out double from catcher Brynn Lesovsky. They scored another on two–out throwing error in the seventh before Clarkson induced Alex Molina to ground to second to end the game.

In addition to Reinhardt, Angelina Orozco (Clovis East HS) collected a pair of hits in the opener to run her hitting streak to a CSUMB team season–high 11 games before going 0–for–4 in the nightcap. Avila also singled in both games.

CSUMB returns to action Tuesday as it takes a break from its 16–game CCAA roadtrip to host 2012 NCAA Regional qualifier Montana State–Billings Tuesday at 1 p.m. Note that the start time is changed from the original noon.