STOCKTON, Calif. -- Let's call it a case of opening night jitters. The No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay softball team wasted the equivalent of two brilliant pitching performances by ace Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly), committing a school–record six errors to gift Sonoma State a marathon 4–2, 14–inning win in the opening game of the CCAA Championship Tournament Friday evening at Arnaiz Stadium.

It was the second longest game in Otter history, trailing only a 16–inning, 2–2 tie versus Notre Dame de Namur on Feb. 1, 2009. It was the longest game in CSUMB postseason history.

CSUMB (44–8) will play the loser of Friday's late game between UC San Diego and No. 6 Humboldt State in an elimination game Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Sonoma (36–19) will face the winner of UCSD/HSU Saturday at 2 p.m. The last time the Otters lost their CCAA Tournament opener they rallied back to reach the championship game in 2012.

The Otters entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in fielding percentage at .982, but a cavalcade of errors eventually proved too much for even Reinhardt's gutsy performance to overcome. They surpassed the previous school record of five errors in a game set three times, last against UCSD in 2010.
The CSUMB offense, meanwhile, pounded out 15 hits but left 16 runners on base, breaking the school record of 15 set against Hawaii Pacific last season. Nevertheless, the Otters twice rallied from behind to tie the game before eventually succumbing when a pair of errors, including a 2–out throwing error, allowed Sonoma to plate the winning runs.

Sonoma jumped on top in the fourth when Holli Brown followed a 1–out CSUMB error with a 2–out double to stake the Seawolves to an early 1–0 lead. But the Otters responded in their half of the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out. Trina Solario (Manteca/San Joaquin Delta College) cashed in one run when she was hit by a pitch with one out, but it's all the Otters would get from the threat in what proved to be a theme for the rest of the game.

Neither team was able to break through again until the 10th, when Sonoma parlayed two infield singles and two sacrifices into the go–ahead run. The Otters responded once again, this time with Bianca Noriega's (Ventura/Camarillo HS) double cashing in a leadoff single by Brianne Hollon (Agoura Hills/Alemany HS) to extend the game.

Things finally came undone in the top of the 14th when a leadoff single, a sacrifice and the fifth Otter error of the evening put runners on the corners. An uncontested steal preceded Reinhardt striking out Ancia Purdy for the second out. Hayley Condon followed with a shot down the third base line. Alissa Greenhaw (Galt/Cosumnes River College) made an excellent play to snare the ball, but her throw skipped in the dirt and down the right field line, allowing both base runners to score.

Reinhardt led off the bottom of the 14th with a walk, but Condon made a diving stab of Noriega's attempt to bunt for a base hit and the Otters went quietly from
there.


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GO OTTERS!