SEASIDE, Calif. — Sophomore
Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) came off the bench to cap a huge rally with the first grand slam of her life, leading Cal State Monterey Bay to a doubleheader split with Humboldt State Saturday at the Otter Sports Complex.
Fein's slam led the Otters to a 9–7 win in Game 1. Humboldt rallied to take the nightcap 3–1.
CSUMB trailed for the entire opener and was behind 7–3 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. A bases–loaded single by freshman
Alyssa Burt (Garden Grove/Pacifica HS) pulled the Otters to within 7–5.
Vanessa Garcia (Heritage Christian HS) followed with a single to load the bases, setting the table for Fein. Fein started the game in the flex spot but game to the plate to hit for designated player
Nikki Jones. She hammered Jazmine Hill's 2–1 offering over to the fence in right center to complete the comeback.
Things looked promising for the Otters in Game 2 when
Courtney Hennings (Amador Valley HS) and
Joanna Perruccio (Long Beach Wilson HS) executed a double steal to stake the Otters to an early 1–0 lead.
But that was all they would get against HSU starter Lexee Sheiring, who allowed just three hits over the final six innings to earn her eighth win.
GAME 1 WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… Hayley Fein's grand slam capped a 6–run Otter sixth to give CSUMB a 9–7 lead. Fein closed the door in the seventh to save the win for
Celeste Villagrana (Anaheim/Howard College).
GAME 2 WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… A beautifully executed squeeze by Micaela Harris made it 3–1 Humboldt in the seventh. The Otters wnet down quietly in the bottom of the inning.
WELCOME BACK OLD FRIEND… Hayley Fein's sixth–inning grand slam in Game 1 ended a streak of 17 games without a home run for the Otters. It was the longest such streak in school history.
SAVE YOURSELF… It's an unusual situation that, at the collegiate level, is unique to softball in which the starting pitcher of a game can earn a save. That's what
Hayley Fein did in Game 1 Saturday. She left the game in the top of the sixth inning with the Otters trailing 6–3.
Celeste Villagrana got the final two outs in the sixth before Fein's slam gave CSUMB its first lead. Fein came back to the circle in the seventh to get the final three outs and earn her second save of the season.
LEADERS OF THE RAFT… Hayley Fein (1x2, GS HR (2), R, 4 RBI);
Courtney Hennings (2x4, 3B, SB, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB); Savannah Salyer Kovacs (2x6, 2B).
THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters conclude their 4–game set against Humboldt State with a doubleheader Sunday at 11 a.m.
GO OTTERS!
