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LA JOLLA, Calif. — A golf adage says, “there's still some chicken left on the bone,” telling players they're in good position but there's still a little work to be done before the ball is in the hole. That metaphor fits aptly to the No. 7 ranked Cal State Monterey Bay softball team, which put a huge feather in its cap by earning a share of its second CCAA title in three years with a 5–3, 5–4 sweep of No. 24 UC San Diego Saturday at the Triton Softball Field.

The wins locked in CSUMB's (42–10, 27–7 CCAA) share of the CCAA title. Cal State Dominguez Hills laid claim to its half of the crown by erasing a four-run deficit in game two to complete its Saturday sweep of Cal State San Bernardino.

Although the Otters may be on the green starring at a birdie putt, they know there is plenty left to be accomplished before they put the ball in the hole.

“Sweeping UCSD is a great accomplishment—they're defending national champions for a reason,” says CSUMB Head Coach Andrea Kenney. “I am proud  of my team. They have worked hard and are deserving of this accomplishment. We will continue to work hard as the second season starts Monday morning.”

Monday morning, the Otters will begin preparations for the 2012 CCAA Softball Championships to be held April 27–29 in Modesto. As the No. 2 seed, CSUMB will take on No. 3 Chico State (34–10, 25–9) while No. 1 Dominguez Hills (41–11, 27–7) faces No. 4 UCSD (32–18, 23–13). The winner of that tournament earns the CCAA's automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional.

With that to look forward to, the Otters can look back at a pair of hard fought victories on Saturday to earn the their most recent title. Freshman pitcher Cori Reinhardt (Riverside Poly HS) did the job in the circle, earning both wins for the second consecutive day. She broke Angela Cabral's school record with her 20th win a complete game effort in the opener. She added her 21st victory by throwing a scoreless eighth inning in the nightcap.

Several Otters stepped up big at the plate, led by senior center fielder Jamie Moon (Torrance HS), who ran her hitting streak to 16 games  by going 2–for–5 Saturday. But her biggest contribution came with a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth inning, from which she eventually scored the winning run on a Reinhardt infield single.

Freshman first baseman Nina Villanueva (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS) began a new hitting streak after seeing her 19–game skein end Wednesday afternoon. She hit safely in both games, including a two–run homer—her CSUMB record–tying 15th of the season—in the first inning of game two. She also had an RBI double in the opener to give her 68 RBIs for the season, just one off the CCAA season record.

UCSD scored twice in the first inning to take its first (and only) lead of the series in game one. But CSUMB scored the next four runs to take the lead as Reinhardt allowed just three hits and one run over the final six innings.

Villanueva's blast staked the Otters to an early lead in the nightcap. A Moon two–bagger helped CSUMB double the lead in the third inning before UCSD rallied by scoring the next four runs to force extra innings. But ended there after Moon walked and advanced on a Villanueva sacrifice and a Jackie Serna (Corona HS) single before scoring on Reinhardt's hit.