HAYWARD, Calif. — It was a tough Tuesday for the Cal State Monterey Bay softball team, which lost a pair of late leads, allowing Cal State East Bay to rally for 7–6 and 3–2 victories at Pioneer Field.

The Otters did themselves no favors, allowing East Bay 19 free base runners. All 10 Pioneer runs scored as a direct result of a walk, wild pitch or hit batter.

Game 1 was the continuation of a game halted due to rain on Mar. 4. The game restarted in the third inning from a 1–1 tie and the Otters quickly broke the game open with two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Anneliese Lopez's (Ventura/Buena HS) RBI double was the big blow in the fourth while Madison Foulks' (Ventura/Buena HS) RBI double highlighted the fifth.

But five walks and two hit batters allowed East Bay to rally for six runs on just one hit in its half of the fifth inning to pull ahead 7–5. Chase Robledo (Camarillo HS) drew a bases–loaded walk of her own to pull one back in the Otter sixth, but that's as close as they would get.

A sacrifice fly by Lopez and a fielding error following a Bianca Noriega (Camarillo HS) single allowed the Otters to go up 2–0 in the first inning of the nightcap. But East Bay scrapped runs back in the fourth and sixth innings before a walk, a wild pitch and a 2–out single by Ashley Allen allowed the Pioneers to escape with the win.

Courtney Varela (Torrance HS) extended her hitting streak to 10 games by going 2-for-4 in the nightcap. Noriega finished the day 5-for-7 at the plate, including a 3-for-4 effort in Game 1.

The Otters and Pioneers will complete their 4–games series with a doubleheader Wednesday in Hayward. The Otters return home to close the 2016 schedule with a 4–game set against Stanislaus State Friday and Saturday at the Otter Sports Complex.