STOCKTON, Calif. — The No. 4 Cal State Monterey Bay softball team split a pair of elimination games to conclude play at the CCAA Championship Tournament Saturday at Arnaiz Stadium. The Otters took a 9–1 run–rule win over Cal State San Bernardino in the first game before falling to No. 11 Humboldt State 2–1 in eight innings.
Freshman pitcher
Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) pitched brilliantly in both games, improving to 29–10 for the season. She allowed San Bernardino just one run in a 2–hit, complete game win. Humboldt, meanwhile, rallied from behind to score one in the sixth and again in the eighth on just seven hits.
Third baseman
Julia Garcia (Ventura College) extended her hitting streak to 18 games by going 4-for-7 in the doubleheader. First baseman
Madison Casto (Sunnyvale/Homestead HS) hit her sixth home run of the season and drove in four runs in the win over San Bernardino.
The Otters finish the regular season at 43–11 overall. They'll await the NCAA Selection Show Monday at 7 a.m. (PDT) to find out their postseason fate. As the No. 1 seed entering the week, CSUMB is locked into a tournament berth. The main questions they face are where they'll be seeded and who they'll face when the West Regional begins on Thursday, May 11.
The San Bernardino Game Was Over When… Madison Casto hit a single to the wall in right field in the sixth inning to plate
Jenae Coleman with the ninth Otter run, ending the game via run–rule.
The Humboldt State Game Was Over When… Sydney Robert hits a solo home run for Humboldt with one out in the bottom of the eighth.
Leading Off… After going 1–2 this time, CSUMB ended the 2017 CCAA Tournament with an 11–10 record all–time in the tournament play. The Otters made their seventh appearance in the CCAA Tournament despite it being just the program's 12th season.
On Deck… The run–rule win over San Bernardino was CSUMB's 14th such victory of the season. That ties the school record for run–rule wins first set by the 2015 Otters.
In The Hole… Julia Garcia now has 80 hits on the season to join
Bianca Noriega as the only Otters ever to post 80 hits in a season. Noriega set the Otter record with 82 hits in 2014.
The Last Word… "The Otters played well today.
Hayley Fein contained two very good offenses for 14 innings. I'm happy with the weekend and looking forward to the NCAA Playoffs" —
CSUMB Head Coach Andrea Kenney
They've Got Next… The Otters will discover their postseason fate on the NCAA Selection Show Monday morning a 7 a.m. PDT. The show will be streamed live on www.NCAASports.com.
GO OTTERS!
