SEASIDE, Calif. — The No. 4 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay softball team bounced back from its disappointing roadtip to Chico with a convincing 8-1, 4-1 sweep of Great Northwest Conference contender Central Washington Wednesday afternoon at the Otter Sports Complex.

The win lifts CSUMB's record to 25-6 overall heading into the Tournament of Champions in Turlock this weekend. The Otters also ran their regular season winning streak in nonconference games to 26 dating back to February of 2014.

After seeing their team batting average slip from .390 to .355 last weekend, the Otters hit at an impressive .404 clip versus CWU (21-of-52), pounding out 11 hits in the opener and 10 more in the nightcap. It was the 12th and 13th times CSUMB has recorded double-digit hits in a game this season.

Sophomore right fielder Courtney Varela (Hawthorne/Torrance HS) went to the IR list this week, moving Alissa Greenhaw (Galt/San Joaquin Delta College) to the leadoff spot for the first time in her Otter career. Greehaw responded in a big way, finishing the doubleheader 6-for-6 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch thrown in to boot. She scored five runs and played a flawless third base, handling nine chances without and error.

As has come to be expected, Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly) also enjoyed a big day. The senior improved to 15-1 in the circle, striking out six while retiring the final 11 Wildcats in order to end the first game. At the plate, she ran her hitting streak to a personal record 18 games—the fourth longest streak in CSUMB history—finishing the doubleheader 4-for-7 with three runs and two RBIs.

The Otter bats remained quiet in the early going as CWU Game 1 starter Lindsey Kamphuis limited CSUMB to a pair of infield singles through the first four innings. But Otter bats finally busted loose in the fifth after singles by Greenhaw and Reinhardt set the table for Bianca Noriega (Ventura/Camarillo HS), who laced a double to left center bring home both runners and snap a 1-1 tie.

Two-run singles by Jayme Stark (Ventura/Buena HS) and Noriega opened up a 5-run sixth inning that put the game on ice.

Otter bats stayed hot to open the nightcap, as run-scoring singles from Reinhardt, Madison Casto (Sunnyvale/Homestead HS) and Trina Solario (Manteca/San Joaquin Delta College) drove CWU starter Brielle Copodonna from the game in the first inning. Kiana Wood came on in relief and held the Otters to just a Reinhardt RBI single over the final 5 2/3 innings, but by then, it was too late.

It was too late because junior Lindsey Clarkson (Fresno/Central HS) was in top form Wednesday. Clarkson fanned 10 Wildcats—the sixth time in her career she has recorded double–digit strikeouts, an Otter record—and scattered five hits for her ninth win.

Clarkson pitched around one bad sequence when she allowed a leadoff single by Kailyn Campbell and an RBI double from Austin Wilkerson to bring home the only CWU run of the game in the fourth inning. But even then she responded by striking out the side to end the inning as part of a stretch in which she retired nine in a row and 12 of the final 13 to finish the game.

CSUMB returns to action at with three games Friday at the Tournament of Champions. The Otters open tourney play by facing Montana State Billings (12:15 p.m.), Northwest Nazarene (2:15 p.m.) and Holy Names University (8:15 p.m.). They'll close the pool play portion of the tournament by playing Central Washington and Western Oregon Saturday afternoon.