LAS VEGAS, Nev. — No. 15 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay started in 2018 season in fine fiddle by defeating a pair of Great Northwest Conference foes on the opening day of the Desert Stinger Classic at Majestic Park. CSUMB began the day with a 6–2 win over GNAC contender Saint Martin's University before finishing with a flourish in a 10–3 win over Northwest Nazarene.

Sophomore pitcher Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) picked up where she left on in 2017 by twirling a 2–hit complete game to beat Saint Martin's in the opener. She fanned five with a 2–out, 2–run bouncer up the middle in the third inning spoiling her shutout bid.

Marissa Hukkanen (Calaveras HS) scored three runs and Julia Garcia (Oxnard HS/Ventura College) drove in three to highlight the 8–hit attack.

The nightcap started on shaky footing with solo shots in the first and third innings staking NNU to a 2–0 lead. But RBI singles by Courtney Hennings (Amador Valley HS) and Garcia sparked a 3–run Otter third to right the ship.

CSUMB blew it open in a 7–run fourth inning, highlighted by a Hennings grand slam followed immediately by a Garcia solo shot. Junior pitcher Celeste Villagrana (Garden Grove HS/Howard College) allowed just one run and fanned three in 4 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win.
 

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The Saint Martin's Game Was Over When… Nikki Jones scored on an SMU error to make it 5–2 Otters in the sixth. Hayley Fein then shut the door with a 1–2–3 seventh to close the win.

The Northwest Nazarene Game Was Over When… Courtney Hennings blasted a laser to dead center field for a grand slam to give the Otters and 8–2 lead.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming… Julia Garcia ran her current hitting streak to 22 games and her streak of reaching base safely to 38 games Friday night. She went 1–for–2 with a walk versus Saint Martin's and 2–for–3 with a walk against Northwest Nazarene.

Leaders Of The Raft… Courtney Hennings (3x7, HR [1], 2 R, 5 RBI, SB); Julia Garcia (3x5, 2B, HR [1] SF, R, 5 RBI); Marissa Hukkanen (3x6, SB, 5 R); Nikki Jones (1x3, 2B, 2 R); Hayley Fein (W, 7.0 IP, CG, 2 H, 5 K, 2 BB).

The Last Word… "The first day of the season is never easy. I'm happy with our performance. Hayley and Celeste pitched very well and our offense was explosive." — CSUMB Head Coach Andrea Kenney

They've Got Next… The Otters continue play at the Desert Stinger Classic Saturday with games against Eastern New Mexico (2 p.m.) and Central Washington (7 p.m.).