STOCKTON, Calif. — In a contest that bore a closer resemblance to a ride down Lombard Street than to a softball game, No. 5 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay took the opening game of the 2015 CCAA Championship Tournament from Chico State, 7-6 in 10 innings, Friday at Arnaiz Stadium.

The win lifts the Otters (45-10) into the winner's bracket of the tournament Saturday at noon against the winner of Friday's late game between No. 15 Humboldt State and Sonoma State. Chico State (28-19) will play the loser of that contest in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m.

Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly), who earlier Friday became the first player in CCAA history to be named both pitcher and player of the year in the same season, went the distance for the Otters. She earned her 13th consecutive win and improved to 28-2 in the circle.

Friday's win came off the bat of junior Marielle Valdez (Atwater/Merced College), who squeaked a walk-off single through the right side against a drawn-in infield to plate Vanessa Avila (Dana Point/Santiago Canyon College) with the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 10th. But the dénouement was almost secondary to the action which preceded it.

CSUMB was one strike away from victory when Desiereé Gonzalez turned the game on its ear with a 2-run homer in the top of the seventh, turning a seemingly secure 4-3 Otter win into a 5-4 Chico State lead. But consecutive errors leading off the bottom of the seventh put Reinhardt on third for Madison Casto (Sunnyvale/Homestead HS), who hit a fly ball to short left field.

Ashley Huff, who played a phenomenal defensive game for Chico, came on to make a diving catch, but couldn't throw the speedy Reinhardt out at the plate from her knees as Casto's sacrifice fly forced extra innings.

Chico's first Hollywood ending denied, it rewrote the script in the top of the eighth. This time, light-hitting second baseman Kelli Keefe, who did not have a home run to date in her four years as a Wildcat, led off with a no-doubter to right field to again put Chico on top, this time a 6-5.

Once again, however, the Otters had an answer. This time Avila led off the Otter eighth with a double. Two batters later, Valdez came in to pinch hit for Courtney Varela and lifted a fly to deep right that plated Avila with the tying run.

Reinhardt shut the door in the next two innings, bringing Avila to the plate to lead off the Otter 10th. Once again, the senior second baseman doubled to the gap to start the inning.

Alissa Greenhaw's (Galt/Cosumnes River College) second consecutive sacrifice moved Avila to third. With the infield and outfield both playing way in, Valdez hit a grounder wide of first. First baseman Tori Zimmerman and Keefe were both too close to knock down the perfectly placed ball before it made its way into right field to seal the win.

Avila, Greenhaw, Reinhardt, Anneliese Lopez (Ventura/Buena HS) and Danica Arterburn (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) each had two hits in CSUMB's 15-hit attack. In addition to Avila's two doubles, Greenhaw chipped in her third triple of the season.