ARCATA, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay softball team knows it has more to accomplish in 2015. But Saturday afternoon, the Otters reached the first of what they hope will be several milestones by clinching their second consecutive CCAA championship with a 5-1, 10-1 (5 inn.) sweep of Humboldt State at the HSU Softball Field.

CSUMB (44-10, 28-8 CCAA) becomes the first team to win back-to-back CCAA softball titles since Humboldt won three in a row from 2007-09. They join Cal State Northridge, Cal State Bakersfield and UC Davis as the only teams to win consecutive CCAA softball titles.

"Winning ccaa championships never gets old," said CSUMB head Coach Andrea Kenney after Saturday's sweep. "Beating a team the quality of Humboldt State to clinch it makes the accomplishment even greater. Hats off to the team for persevering through adversity to accomplish this goal. We'll take the next day to celebrate then we have to refocus and get ready for postseason play."

Clinching the title did not come as easy as Saturday's final scores might indicate. The Otters had to come from behind to win both games. Thanks to outstanding pitching performances by Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly) and Lindsey Clarkson (Fresno/Central HS), the comebacks were relatively modest in nature.

Reinhardt earned her 27th win of the season by allowing just a single unearned run in the first inning of the opener. She shutout the Lumberjacks on five hits over the final 6 2/3 innings.

She then batted herself back into the game with a 2-out, RBI single in the third inning to know the score at 1-1. And that's the way it remained until the pivotal sixth inning, when a double by Nicole Pires (Ontario/Colony HS) and a single up the middle by Vanessa Avila (Dana Point/Santiago Canyon College) set the stage for the biggest play of the Otter season to date.

Alissa Greenhaw (Galt/Cosumnes River College), who up to this point had been 0-for-8 in the series, continued her penchant for coming up big with the game on the line by belting her fourth home run of the season to put CSUMB on top 4-1. Doubles by Madison Casto (Sunnyvale/Homestead HS) and Pires added a superfluous insurance run in the seventh.

With the title now clinched, the Otters allowed Humboldt to take a 1-0 lead again in the nightcap on Darian Harris' first inning RBI double. That was one of only four hits Clarkson would allow Saturday.

This time, the Otters wasted no time in responding. A bases-loaded walk to Avila and a sac fly by Greenhaw put the Otters back on top, 2-1, in the next half inning.

That's the way it stayed until the fifth inning, when the Otter offense finally erupted to put the game on ice. Consecutive 2-run doubles by Casto and Anneliese Lopez (Ventura/Buena HS) chase Humboldt starter Madison Williams from the circle.

A 2-run pinch hit double by Chase Robledo (Camarillo HS) got the Otters to run rule territory with a 9-1 lead. Reinhardt followed with an RBI double of her own to get the Otters to double digits for the ninth time this season.

Clakrson followed with a 1-2-3 ninth to end the afternoon.

CSUMB will hit the road again next week, traveling to Stockton for the CCAA Championship Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, the Otters will open against No. 4 seed Chico State Friday at 3 p.m.