SEASIDE—The urgency for the Chico State softball team to finish the 2017 regular season on a high note is now at its highest level. With a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament berth at stake, the Wildcats' postseason aspirations took a huge hit Saturday in Seaside, as the No. 7 Cal State Monterey Bay Otters followed up Friday's doubleheader split by winning both ends of the series-ending twin bill, downing the 'Cats 9-8 in 12 innings in game one and notching a 4-2 victory in the nightcap at the Otter Sports Complex.
 
Saturday's two losses dropped Chico State to 32-13 on the season, but more importantly, the Wildcats slipped to fifth place in the CCAA standings with a 22-12 conference record. With just four regular season games remaining, the 'Cats are percentage points behind Cal State San Bernardino for the fourth and final CCAA Championship Tournament berth.
 
With the two victories, Cal State Monterey Bay improved to 41-8 overall and, with a 29-7 conference record, officially clinched the CCAA regular season title.
 
The Wildcats racked up 18 hits in the doubleheader loss, with Ari Marsh and Claire Wayne collecting four safeties apiece. Karli Skowrup contributed three hits, with Cailin Garmon and Kristin Worley each chipping in with two hits on the day.  
 
The opener's 12-inning marathon was the longest Chico State softball game since March 30, 2013, when the Wildcats ironically beat Cal State Monterey Bay 2-1 in 12 innings.
 
The Otters flexed their offensive muscle in the first two frames, combining seven hits with three Chico State errors to score five runs against Wildcats' starting pitcher Haley Gilham. The 'Cats' lone tally in the opening innings came on Olivia Dallara's fourth home run of the year in the top of the second.
 
The Wildcats erased the four-run deficit in the top of the third inning. Wayne and Megan Bowley each delivered RBI singles to make the score 5-3, then a two-run double by Skowrup tied the contest at five-all.
 
Chico State went out in front in the top of the fourth, when Garmon led off the inning with a walk, stole second and scored on Wayne's single to left. Later in the frame Worley came home on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Bowley, giving the Wildcats a 7-5 lead.
 
Singles by Skowrup, Worley and Marsh in the top of the fifth inning resulted in another Chico State run and extended the 'Cats' advantage to 8-5. Down but certainly not out, Monterey Bay answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, then down to its final out in the seventh, tied the game on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Julia Garcia.
 
The contest went into extra innings tied 8-8, with neither team being able to score until the bottom of the 12th inning, when Garcia walked with the bases loaded to give Monterey Bay the 9-8 victory.
 
Garmon, who allowed just one baserunner and struck out five in four impressive innings of relief, gave up the deciding run in the 12th to suffer the hard-luck loss.
 
The Otters immediately jumped out in front in the nightcap, scoring three times in the bottom of the first inning and adding another run in the third. Wayne needed just one swing of the bat to help the Wildcats cut Monterey Bay's lead in half in the top of the fourth inning—with Marsh aboard, Chico State's third baseman ripped her fourth homer run of the year over the left field fence, making it a 4-2 ballgame.
 
Unfortunately for Chico State, that would be all the runs it could muster. The Wildcats were able to get the tying runs aboard in the fifth and seventh innings, but Monterey Bay pitcher Hayley Fein worked out of both jams. A one-out single by Lauren Sharp and a walk to Gilham kept the 'Cats' hopes alive in the final frame, but Fein struck out Garmon and got Worley to fly out to right to end it, giving the Otters the 4-2 victory, the doubleheader sweep and the series win.  
 
The Wildcats return to Chico next weekend to wrap up the regular season with a four-game series against Sonoma State (35-15 overall, second place in the CCAA with a 25-11 conference record). Doubleheaders are scheduled Friday at 1 p.m. and Saturday at noon at University Softball Field.