TURLOCK, Calif. -- The No. 15 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay softball team did it the hard way, but it kept its winning streak intact with two more victories Saturday at the Tournament of Champions. The Otters pulled one out of the fire to earn a 3-2 walk-off win over Saint Martin's University in eight innings in the afternoon before rolling to a 12-2 run-rule win over Notre Dame de Namur Saturday night.

Saint Martin's seemed poised for the upset after becoming the first team in nine games to score on Otter freshman Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) by taking a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. With CSUMB down to its final out, pinch hitter Valerie Aguilar (East L.A. College) came through with the big hit by lining a single up the middle to plate Joanna Perruccio (Cerritos College) with the tying run.

With the international tie breaker rule in effect in the eighth, Julia Garcia (Ventura College) made a big defensive play to keep the Saints off the board in the top of the inning. She went to her knees to rob SMU cleanup hitter Kim Nelson for the final out with the go-ahead run on third base

Garcia began the bottom of the eighth on second and, after a sacrifice by Madison Casto (Sunnyvale/Homestead HS), Saint Martin's choose to intentionally walk Courtney Hennings (Amador Valley HS) and Anneliese Lopez (Ventura/Buena HS) to load the bases and set up a force at the plate.

The problem was, the strategy brought Jayme Stark (La Quinta HS), the CCAA's leading hitter entering the tournament, to the plate. Stark responded by driving a single back up the middle to bring Garcia home for the win.

The nightcap versus NDNU was much less eventful but no less successful for CSUMB. Garcia's RBI double opened a 3-run first inning and her 2-run homer capped a 9-run third that all but ended the game.
 

---

THE SAINT MARTIN'S GAME WAS OVER WHEN… Jayme Stark's single up middle scored Julia Garcia from third base, igniting the walk-off celebration.
 

THE NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR GAME WAS OVER WHEN… Chase Robledo's (Camarillo HS) pinch-hit, 3-run double made it 9-2 Otters in the third inning.
 

LEADING OFF… Saturday's wins pushed CSUMB's winning streak to 16 games, the second longest in school history. The Otter record for most consecutive wins (any sport) is 19 straight by the 2015 Otter softball team.
 

ON DECK… Hayley Fein's ran her scoreless innings streak ended with one out in the sixth inning against Saint Martin. She tossed a school-record 46 2/3 innings over nine game from Mar. 16 through Apr. 1.
 

IN THE HOLE… The Otters continue to come up clutch. Sure, CSUMB leads the CCAA with a .378 team batting average. But what's most impressive is that the Otters are hitting .411 with runners in scoring position this season (134 for 326). with runners on third base and less than two outs, that average jumps to an incredible .614 (62 for 101).
 

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… Julia Garcia (4x6, 2B, HR (8), 4 R, 3 RBI); Jayme Stark (3x6, R, 2 RBI); Courtney Hennings (4x6, 2 R, RBI); Sam Luna (3x4, 3B, R); Anneliese Lopez (3x6, 3B, R, 3 RBI); Chase Robledo (1x1, PH 2B, R, 3 RBI); Kaitlyn Garcia (1x1, PH 2B, RBI).
 

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters will close play at the Tournament of Champions with two game Sunday. They'll play Academy of Art at 11:30 a.m. and Hawaii Pacific at 4:30 p.m.


 

GO OTTERS!