Palomar powers up for sweep of Chargers

SAN MARCOS (4/15/2023) – Palomar College picked up a pair of key late-season nonconference softball wins on Saturday when the top-ranked Comets swept a doubleheader from No. 5 Cypress. 

Aaliyah Rivas slugged a pair of home runs and Allyson Amato and Jonessa Hebreo each went 3-for-3 at the plate to support a four-hit shutout by India Caldwell as Palomar claimed the first game, 8-0. The second game also went the way of the Comets, who broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run sixth inning to take the nightcap, 5-2. 

Palomar (28-1) has won three straight games in the week since a 3-2 loss to No. 3 Mt. San Antonio in eight innings which ended a 25-game win streak to start the season. 

"I think our girls have been pretty motivated after the Mt. SAC game," Comets coach Lacey Craft said after the sweep of Cypress (30-6) at Bradley Park. "They worked hard in practice before the RCC game (a 6-0 win over Riverside City on April 11), and they kept working hard in the days leading up to Cypress." 

The doubleheader, featuring two programs with a combined 14 state championships to their credit, was delayed an hour due to transportation issues for the Cypress squad. Once Game 1 started, the Comets quickly got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning when the first two batters produced a 2-0 lead. Amato, a sophomore first baseman, singled to center field and Rivas, a sophomore designated player, launched her 13^th home run of the season over the fence in left. 

Palomar padded its lead to 3-0 in the third inning when sophomore second baseman Malachy Russell-Millen reached base on an outfield error and scored ahead of a triple to right by sophomore shortstop Elisa Haas. The Comets chased Chargers starting pitcher Emily Rush in the fourth inning with a three-run rally which began with a one-out single by Hebreo, a sophomore left fielder. 

Hebreo came around to score on a double to left-center field by Amato, and Rivas followed with her second homer of the game, this one an opposite-field shot to right for her team-leading 14^th round-tripper of the season. 

Needing to score two more runs to bring about the mercy-run rule, Palomar rallied again in the fifth when freshman right fielder Faith Steffany and Haas each singled to start the inning. Steffany was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on a grounder to third by sophomore catcher Ellison Hazlett, but sophomore center fielder Cadee Herrmann hit an RBI single to right to score Haas for a 7-0 lead. 

With Hazlett at third base and Herrmann at second with a stolen base, Cypress brought in an outfielder to form a five-player infield shift in hopes of keeping Hebreo from delivering the eighth run. Hebreo, however, foiled the Chargers' plan with a sharp single down the third-base line to score Hazlett with the game-winning run. 

Cypress, leaders of the Orange Empire Conference by two games over Fullerton, was held scoreless for only the third time this season by Caldwell, a sophomore right-hander who spun her ninth shutout of the season. The Chargers had runners past first base in only one inning, when a single and an outfield error put runners at second and third with no outs in the top of the second. A strikeout and two infield groundouts kept the visitors off the scoreboard. 

Caldwell walked no batters and struck out nine, including the side in the fourth inning. She also pitched in relief in the second game, which also began with a quick two-run lead for the Comets. 

Amato led off the first inning of Game 2 with a walk, and she scored when Rivas connected for an RBI double to right. After advancing to third on the throw home, Rivas scored on a sacrifice fly to center by freshman third baseman Itzell De Los Rios. 

Palomar maintained its 2-0 lead for three innings as freshman pitcher Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel retired the first eight batters she faced and held Cypress scoreless on two hits through three innings. 

Following a leadoff double to start the fourth, the Chargers had a runner thrown out at the plate on a relay from Haas to Hazlett on a fielder's choice grounder to short. Two singles led to a run, but Hazlett threw out a runner at second to end the inning with Palomar still leading, 2-1. 

Clavel retired the first two batters of the fifth inning, but an infield error and two singles allowed Cypress to tie the score at 2-2. Caldwell then replaced Clavel in the pitching circle and retired the next batter with a strikeout. 

Cypress put two runners on base in the top of the sixth inning on a catcher's interference call and a hit by pitch but failed to score. 

Palomar's winning rally in the bottom of the sixth began with a single up the middle by De Los Rios. A sacrifice bunt by Russell-Millen advanced the runner to second, where Hebreo took over as a pinch runner. A single by Steffany put runners at the corners, and Haas delivered a sacrifice fly to right to break the tie. 

Steffany stole second base and came around to score when the catcher's throw sailed into the outfield for an error, and following walks to Hazlett and Herrmann, sophomore Alexis Ruelas came through with a pinch-hit RBI single up the middle for a 5-2 Palomar lead. 

Caldwell pitched a perfect seventh inning to pick up the win with 2 1/3 innings of relief. With two wins on the day, Caldwell improved her season record to 19-1. 

Rivas had two doubles and Steffany had a pair of singles as the Comets completed their sweep of the nine-time state champions, who ended Palomar's season last year in the Super Regionals by winning a three-game playoff series, 2 games to 1. 

 "I liked how we came out on offense in both games," Craft said. "The quick start in the first game set the tone. 

"And our pitchers both did well against a good-hitting team. They put the ball in play a lot." 

The Comets will take to the road on Tuesday for a non-conference game against another OEC opponent when they take on Fullerton. Palomar will return home to Bradley Park for Pacific Coast Athletic Conference games against Southwestern on Wednesday (3 p.m.) and San Diego Mesa on Friday (1 p.m.) before hosting College of the Canyons in a nonconference doubleheader on April 22. 

The Comets currently have a one-game lead over Mesa in the PCAC standings with five conference games remaining on the schedule.