HAYWARD, Calif. — Following an admittedly lackluster performance at the Desert Stinger Classic last week, the No. 15 Cal State Monterey Bay softball team bounced back in a big way Friday, opening its California Collegiate Athletic Association title defense with a 9–1 (5 inn.), 8–4 sweep of Cal State East Bay at Pioneer Field.

Sophomore Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) tossed a 3–hitter in the opener, fanning five without walking a batter for her second win of the season. Freshman Morgan Hawkins (Folsom/Vista del Lago Academy) went the distance in the nightcap, fanning four for her first collegiate victory.

Curvy numbers were the order of the day for the Otter offense, which scored multiple runs in five of the 12 innings contested Friday. CSUMB opened Game 1 with a bang, scoring six times in the first inning. A 3–run blast by Courtney Hennings (Amador Valley HS), her third of the young season, put the Otters over the threshold for the 5–inning, run–rule win.

The Otters threatened several time early in Game 2, but didn't break through until Joanna Perruccio (L.B. Wilson HS/Cerritos College) broke the seal of a scoreless game in the fifth inning. RBI singles by Jayme Stark (La Quinta HS) and Fein capped the 4–run inning and CSUMB never looked back.
 

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GAME 1 WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… Savanna Salyer Kovacs' 2–run single put the polish on a 6–run first inning. East Bay never threatened save for a single run in the fourth inning.

GAME 2 WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… Marissa Hukkanen hit her first collegiate home run to give the Otters a 6–1 lead in sixth inning. They would extend their advantage to 8–2 before East Bay scored twice in the seventh.

AN INSIDE JOB… Marissa Hukkanen's first collegiate homer Friday was an inside–the–park shot. It was the first inside–the–park homer by an Otter since Jenae Coleman hit one against Holy Names University on Mar., 9, 2017.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB… Savanna Salyer Kovacs collected her first three collegiate hits Friday, finishing the day 3-for-7 with three RBI.

SHE'S A HIT… Hayley Fein earned CCAA Freshman of the Year honors for her work in the circle in 2017. She's proving to be quite adept with the bat as well. Fein went 5-for-7 at the plate Friday to raise her team–leading average to .500.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… Hayley Fein (5x7, R, 4 RBI; 5.0 IP, 3 H, 5K, 0 BB, 2 ER); Marissa Hukkanen (5x7, 2B, HR [1], 3 R, 2 RBI, SB); Savanna Salyer-Kovacs (3x7, 2 RBI); Joanna Perruccio (2x5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB); Courtney Hennings (1x4, HR [3], 3 R, 3 RBI).

THE LAST WORD… "We know that if we learn from our mistakes, we have not failed. MB softball worked very hard last week and showed significant improvement today. We will continue to make adjustments and get better with every pitch." — CSUMB Head Coach Andrea Kenney

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters conclude their 4–game set Hayward with a doubleheader against the Pioneers starting Saturday at noon.