SAN FRANCISCO — Senior
Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly) carried the mail and then some for the No. 5 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay softball team, winning both ends of Saturday's doubleheader against San Francisco State at the SFSU Softball Field. Reinhardt drove in both runs and tossed a complete game 4-hitter in an opening game 2-1 victory before throwing four inning of 3-hit, shutout relief to win the nightcap 4-2.
The wins lift CSUMB's record to 36-9 overall and 21-7 in the CCAA. They remain one game behind Humboldt State in the CCAA race with eight games remaining. The Otters and Lumberjacks will finish the season with a 4-game showdown in Arcata.
Reinhardt (23-2) drove in both Otter runs with a 2-out single in the first inning of Game 1. She allowed a leadoff double and an RBI single to start the SFSU second inning, but then shutdown the Gators from there, allowing just two hits over the final six innings for the win.
SFSU used a walk, an infield single and two sacrifice bunts to score in the first inning of Game 2. But
Madison Casto's seventh homer of the season opened a 3-run Otter second that put CSUMB ahead to stay. Senior
Danica Arterburn (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) got the second game start for the second consecutive day. But since Reinhardt need only an efficient 91 pitches to win the opener, Head Coach
Andrea Kenney was able to call on her after Arterburn allowed the first two Gators to reach base in the fourth.
Reinhardt responded by setting down 12 of the 15 Gators she faced.
Anneliese Lopez added an RBI single in the fifth inning for what proved to be unnecessary insurance.
In addition to Reinhardt, Casto (3-for-6) and
Vanessa Avila (2-for-4) also hit safely in both games for CSUMB.
The Otters return to the Otter Sports Complex to play their final regular season home games of 2015 when they host Cal State Stanislaus Apr. 17-18.
GO OTTERS!