ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — Cal State Monterey Bay let two leads slip away Saturday but rallied late to save one of them in a doubleheader split with Sonoma State at Seawolf Field. The Otters scored in the ninth inning to earn a 6–5 victory in the opener before Sonoma scored 11 unanswered runs to overcome a 4–0 Otter lead in an 11–5 Game 2 win.

RBI singles by Julia Garcia (Oxnard HS/Ventura College) and Savanna Salyer Kovacs (Camarillo HS) staked the Otters to an early lead in the opener. Salyer Kovacs added another run–scoring single in the fifth before Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) led off the sixth with her her first collegiate home run to extend the CSUMB lead to 5–2.

But Sonoma scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings, where Fein made herself a winner by drawing a bases–loaded walk in the ninth.

A bases–loaded triple from Joanna Perruccio (Long Beach Wilson HS/Cerritos College) highlighted a 4–run second inning that gave CSUMB an early lead in the nightcap. But a trio of Otter pitchers combined to walk six and hit two more Seawolf batters as Sonoma rallied to score 11 runs on just seven hits in the fourth and fifth innings.

CSUMB didn't score again until Alexis Weekes' (Lakewood HS) pinch–hit single in seventh plated Nikki Jones (Cordova HS) with the game's final run.
 

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GAME 1 WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… Hayley Fein pitched a perfect ninth inning after driving in the go–ahead run in the top of the frame.

GAME 2 WAS OVER WHEN… Sonoma took advantage of three walks and a hit batter to score seven runs on just three hits in the fourth inning.

IT'S NOT HOW MANY, IT'S HOW MUCH… The Otters actually out–hit Sonoma 34 to 29 in the 4–game series but were out–scored 27 to 16 thanks to Otter pitching allowing 16 walks and hitting four batters.

A COUPLE OF STREAKS… Savanna Salyer Kovacs ran her hitting streak to seven games by going 2-for-5 in the opener and 1-for-3 in Game 2. Joanna Perruccio increased her hitting streak to five games with a hit in both games. She has reached base safely in all 17 games this season.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… Courtney Hennings (4x9, 2B, 3B, 3 R); Savanna Salyer Kovacs (3x8, 2 RBI); Joanna Perruccio (2x6, 3B, 3 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI); Hayley Fein (1x7, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI).

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters return home to host a 4–game set with San Francisco State Mar. 2–3 at the Otter Sports Complex. First pitch both days is scheduled for noon.