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SEASIDE, Calif. — When the dust settled from Saturday's softball doubleheader between Cal State Monterey Bay and No. 1 ranked Humboldt State the only thing we knew for certain was something we already knew heading into the weekend: these are two of the top teams in the nation.

CSUMB and Humboldt split a doubleheader for the second consecutive day. This time, Humboldt won the opener 2–1 before Otter sophomore Lindsey Clarkson (Fresno/Central HS) twirled a 4–hit shutout to lead the Otters to a 4–0 win in the nightcap.

The win leaves CSUMB at 9–4 (5–3 CCAA) and Humboldt at 13–3 (5–3). The teams aren't scheduled to meet again in the regular season, although they could face each other in bracket play at the Tournament of Champions on April 6 in Turlock.

"This was a great weekend of softball. It was playoff level competition," says CSUMB Head Coach Andrea Kenney.  "Lindsey Clarkson and Cori Reinhardt shut down the best offense in the nation and freshman Anneliese Lopez was a power on offense. We will continue to work hard and improve."

To say Humboldt entered the weekend with the best offense in NCAA Division II softball might be to damn with faint praise. The Lumberjacks came into the series with 30 home runs in their first 13 games, averaging a healthy 7.5 runs per game.

But they hit just one home run on the weekend and scored more than two runs only once, both in Friday's 6–1 Game 2 victory. Reinhardt held Humboldt to two run in both her appearances, although the Lumberjacks got the better of her Saturday, scoring a run in the first and a run in the seventh to eke out a victory in the opener.

Clarkson slammed the door shut in Saturday's finale, however, fanning four in her first shutout of 2014. After allowing a single and a walk in each of the first two innings, she did not allow another Lumberjack to reach scoring position for the final five innings while facing just one batter over the minimum.

On offense, Lopez swung the big stick, going 3–for–3 with a double in the opener before breaking open the nightcap with a 2–run single in the third inning. Reinhardt and Brianne Hollon (Agoura Hills/Alemany HS) also hit safely in both games with each finishing the afternoon 2–for–5.

CSUMB continues its brutal 8–game stretch next weekend when it heads to La Jolla for four games against No. 13 UC San Diego. The Otters return home to host Cal State East Bay in a 4–game series Mar. 7–8.