College baseball: Otters clinch fifth straight conference championship
SEASIDE — If one for the thump was not the theme this spring, it’s only because Cal State Monterey Bay has bigger goals in front of them on the diamond.
Forgive the Otters baseball team, though, if it let loose a little bit Friday after clinching their fifth straight California Collegiate Athletic Association title.
With their 6-3 decision over Stanislaus State in the first game of a doubleheader, the Otters became the first baseball program in the CCAA to win five consecutive baseball titles.
“We have a lot of new guys in the program that didn’t experience the last four,” CSUMB coach Walt White said. “But the reason they are here is because of what we’ve done in the past.”
Replacing 26 seniors and eight starters became a reboot, not a rebuild, as the Otters are four wins shy of breaking the school record for wins (39) — set in each of the last three years.
“One of our players asked, ‘are we going to celebrate this’?” White said. “I don’t know if it’s sinking in. It’s a different feeling than we have had in the past. I think it’ll hit me when the season is over. I’m still trying to figure out how I will manage the next game.”
CSUMB, who won the CCAA title on the last game of the regular season last year, will chase a fourth CCAA conference tournament title on Wednesday in San Bernardino.
Regardless of the results in the tournament, the Otters are ticketed for the NCAA Division II West Regionals, slated for May 14-16. Defending their tournament title, however, would ensure them of hosting the West Regionals.
“I don’t want to diminish what we’ve accomplished,” White said. “We understand how hard this is. But the ultimate goal is still out in front of us. The players understand the job isn’t done and there is a whole lot of baseball left.”
Having won 10 of its last 12 games going into Friday’s doubleheader — dropped the second game 10-7, CSUMB (36-13) is ranked No. 10 in the nation in Division II.
“I just felt there was something special about this group,” White said. “We have talent. But everyone has talent. You win when your talent cares for each other, and your best players are your leaders. We’ve had adversity. You have to have depth.”
White, who took over an eight-win program in 2010, has won 481 games over 15 full seasons at CSUMB, having won 39 or more games in a season four times.
“Never did I ever anticipate this kind of run when I got the job 16 years ago,” White said. “This is a product of the coaches, players, and the support we’ve had.”
The Otters have been to three straight NCAA Division II Super Regionals, coming within three outs of reaching the World Series in 2024.
“That’s still the most disappointing loss I’ve had,” White said. “I relive that every day. You don’t let those go. I love my job. It feels like I’ve never worked a day in my life. However, I don’t remember our wins. But I remember every negative loss.”
The top-ranked team in the NCAA Division II West Region, the Otters broke up a 3-3 game in the seventh inning with a three-run uprising.
Kyle Olimpia, who homered Thursday in a 10-2 win over Stanislaus to clinch a share of the title, doubled home a run, with Jordan Hockett delivering a sacrifice fly.
Kyle Giovannoni tossed two scoreless innings of relief to improve to 2-0, while Preston Kelly hurled a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save.
The Otters, who are hitting .319 as a team and have hit 58 homers, came into the title-clinching game having scored 34 runs in their last three games.
Newcomers James Starkus is chasing .400, hitting .391 with a team-leading 12 homers, while Jason Del Villar has driven in a team high 65 runs in just 50 games.
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