SAN BERNARDINO – Humboldt State took an early lead in its first chances on offense in both games, but gave the lead up in the bottom half of the inning. The Jacks rallied from behind to grab the first game, beating Cal State San Bernardino 13-8, but surrendered two runs in the bottom of the seventh of the nightcap to take the game into extra innings. In a tale of homers, it was only fitting for a home run to end the series, giving the Coyotes the 15-14 victory.

GAME ONE
GAME TWO

The results puts the Jacks at 10-23 overall, 4-20 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. After the completion of the four-game series, Cal State San Bernardino sits at 13-18 overall and 9-13 in conference.

Tonya Walker singled up the middle to lead off for the Jacks. Still shaken up from Alicia Reid's home run spree the day before, CSUSB walked Reid four times, including her first at-bat, to put two runners on base for HSU. Chrissy Stalf followed by watching four balls escape the strike zone to load up the bases. A passed ball allowed each runner to advance a base, sending Walker in for the first run. Courtney Hiatt knocked a double to right field, giving Reid and Stalf the chance to put the Jacks up 3-0.

Wanting to put themselves up on the scoreboard, the Coyotes plated six runs, with no hits, to take the lead. The first three batters for CSUSB walked to put the tying runs on base. Jamie Leffingwell's sacrifice fly gave the Jacks their first out, but allowed Alex Mitchell to tag and run in for the score. Three more walks, a batter hit by a pitch, a balk and a ground out handed five more runs over to the Coyotes.

CSUSB added two more runs in the bottom of the second, off three hits and an HSU error, but despite the struggles and the 8-3 score, the Jacks stayed in the game, sparked by Ally Blenis' home run to left field in the top of the third.

The Jacks took the game back in their favor in the top of the fourth, scoring five runs off four hits. Serena Aragones started with a single and advanced to second off a single from Walker. With two outs, the Jacks put on their rally caps and let the hits rain off their bats. 

Sammi Gilbert singled to left field and made her way to second, capitalizing on a throwing error, and scoring Aragones. Reid's second walk of the day placed her on first and a wild pitch sent her to second, Gilbert to third and Walker home for the run. Stalf also walked to once again load up the bases and Blenis doubled to grab three RBIs.

With the Jacks now up 9-8, they buckled down on defense and held the Coyotes to four hits and no runs in the final three innings of play. Offensively, Humboldt State added four more runs—two in each the fifth and sixth—including a home run in the sixth from Felicia Viveiros, to grab the 13-8 victory.

The nightcap followed in a similar fashion with the Jacks scoring runs in their first appearance at the plate. Walker once again led HSU with a single and advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt from Stalf. A wild pitch sent Walker one base closer to home, which she reached as the Coyotes surrendered an error to put Reid at first and Walker in for the score. Hiatt grabbed some heat off Reid's bat and sent her pitch sailing over left center to put the Jacks up 3-0 like the earlier game.

Also like the first game, the Coyotes answered with their own multi-run inning, plating seven runs to grab the lead. Humboldt State gave up three costly errors, along with three runs, to surrender the lead it had grabbed just half an inning before.

CSUSB increased its lead to 10-3 in the bottom of the second, with all three runs coming off home runs. Britney Butler started by knocking the ball over center field, while Monica Ferguson sent her home run sailing over right field, with a runner on base, to give the Coyotes the seven-run cushion.

Humboldt State cut the lead to four runs by answering with three runs of its own in the top of the third. With Reid and Hiatt on base, Blenis sent her second home run of the day over the fence to put the score at 10-6.

Kirsten Nouzovsky also caught the home run bug and powered one over the left field fence to start the top of the fourth.  With Walker on base, Stalf became the fifth Lumberjack to pick up a home run on the weekend, blasting it over left field. While the Coyotes picked up two outs, Viveiros stepped up to the plate and knocked her second home run out of the park, this time a three-run homer.

HSU held CSUSB to just one run in the bottom of the fourth to head back into the dugout on offense, with the game tied at 12-12. Nouzovsky made perfect contact with a pitch to grab her second home run of the game—the Jacks' 12th homer in the series—to put Humboldt State up 13-12 after the top of the fifth.

The Jacks defense didn't allow the Coyotes to answer in the second half of the fifth, ending the inning with a double play from Nouzovsky and Stalf.

Viveiros' RBI double gave Humboldt State a 14-12 lead in the sixth, but once again Cal State San Bernardino tied up the game with two runs off two hits in the bottom of the seventh. With two runners on base, Andrea Chavez made a crucial catch at shortstop to keep the game alive and give the Jacks another chance on offense.

Although Humboldt State put runners on second and third, the batters couldn't send the Jacks in before CSUSB grabbed three outs, putting HSU back on defense.

Leffingwell took the game into her own hands, nailing a pitch over the fence to end the game with a home run and give each team two wins in the CCAA series.

Humboldt State takes a break from conference play as it heads to Turlock for the Tournament of Champions. The Jacks won't get a chance to host any games until April 4 when they take on another non-conference opponent, Notre Dame de Namur.