ARCATA - Home at last.
 
After three consecutive road trips, the Lumberjacks softball team will return to its home turf at Humboldt State this weekend as they face the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay in California Collegiate Athletic Association play on Saturday and Sunday. The start of the series was delayed a day to allow the field to dry out from a midweek storm.
 
The Otters and the Lumberjacks are in similar positions at this point in the season. Both teams lost three out of four last weekend, and both are just over .500 on the season (HSU is 9-8 overall; CSUMB is 11-10). And the two teams each have young pitching staffs.
 
“They've got good pitching and it could go either way,” said HSU head coach Frank Cheek. “We match up well with them, but the team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win each ball game.”
 
After last weekend's contests, the Jacks (5-3 in CCAA) are third in the conference as Monterey Bay (6-6 in CCAA) sits in sixth. The first doubleheader will begin at noon on Saturday, followed by another doubleheader Sunday at 11 a.m. Both games will be at the HSU softball field.
 
Last Weekend – Humboldt State
Seventh-inning heroics by Humboldt State were needed in both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday to send games to extra innings where the Jacks pulled out the opener over Chico State but lost the nightcap (winning 2-1 in 11 innings and losing 4-3 in 8 innings).
 
Hannah Williams knocked in the tying run in the top of the seventh of game one with a one-out single, scoring Julie Pena who led off the inning with a single. It was Williams again in the 11th who had an RBI single, scoring Chrissy Stalf to put the Jacks ahead, 2-1.
  
Freshman pitcher Katie Obbema (1-1) went the distance, allowing eight hits. Kayla McConnell (2-5) got the loss for the Wildcats.
 
On Friday, The weather was hot, but the bats were not. Humboldt State struggled at the plate and lost twice to Cal State Chico (5-0, 2-1) in temperatures that approached 80 degrees. It was Humboldt's first CCAA losses on the season.
 
“We gave it to them,” said Cheek said. “We made mistakes and it cost us.”
 
Last Weekend – Cal State Monterey Bay
The Cal State Monterey Bay softball team received a pair of solid pitching performances from sophomore Cori Reinhardt and freshman Lindsey Clarkson but failed to take advantage of either as UC San Diego swept a doubleheader, 2–1 and 5–2 (9 inn.), Saturday at the Otter Sports Complex.
 
For the fourth time in its six CCAA doubleheaders, the Cal State Monterey Bay softball team settled for a split on Friday, this time dividing a pair with visiting UC San Diego in a 2–1 win and 3–1 loss.

Reinhardt led the way once again for CSUMB. She fanned seven and allowed just one unearned run to pick up her sixth victory of the season in the opener. At the plate, she finished the day 4–for–7 with an RBI triple.
 
Head-to-Head
The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series 17-14, but have gone 3-6 against the Otters in the past two seasons. During the 2012 season, Humboldt State and Monterey Bay met in the Best of the West Classic Tournament, and the Jacks came out on top 6-5. But when HSU traveled to Seaside, the Jacks lost all four games (9-2, 9-1, 8-0, 12-11).
 
Live Media
Live stat links can be found at:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/softball/scoreboard.aspx
 
Monterey Bay Notes
Sophomore Cori Reinhardt is the leading hitter for Monterey Bay with 30 hits, 25 RBI and a .455 average. ... As a team, the Otters have hit just one home run on the season. ... Reinhardt has reached base in all 21 games. ... The pitching staff has an ERA of 2.78.
 
Humboldt State Notes
The Lumberjacks have 94 RBI on the season - 27 more than their opponents. ... Chrissy Stalf still leads HSU with six home runs. Julie Pena and Hannah Williams each have five. ... In 50 innings pitched, Lizzie Perez adds 34 strikeouts, five wins and an ERA of 2.62. ... Katie Obbema went the distance in an 11-inning game against Chico, winning 2-1.
 
Injury Report
Junior outfielder Tonya Walker received testing on Monday for a possible concussion after taking a hard dive into first base during Saturday's doubleheader in Chico.