No. 2 Comets blank No. 10 Fullerton, 3-0 

SAN MARCOS (2/21/2023) – A two-run first inning and a solo home run by Aaliyah Rivas in the fifth inning were all the offense required as the No. 2 Palomar College softball team shut out No. 10 Fullerton, 3-0, Tuesday at Bradley Park. 

The nonconference victory lifted the Comets' record to 9-0 to start the season. The loss for Fullerton was the second straight for the Hornets after a 7-0 start. 

Freshman right fielder Faith Steffany (Rancho Buena Vista HS) walked to lead off the bottom of the first inning and quickly stole second base. Steffany then got into a rundown on sophomore Allyson Amato's fielder's choice grounder to third base, but Steffany was able to elude a tag and safely reach third. 

One out after Amato stole second, sophomore catcher Ellison Hazlett tripled to center field, driving in both baserunners for a 2-0 Palomar lead. 

Sophomore second baseman Malachy Russell-Millen led off the fourth inning with her first of two doubles, and freshman shortstop Itzell De Los Rios followed with a single, but both runners were stranded. 

Rivas, a sophomore third baseman, clouted a two-out home run to left to pad the Palomar lead to 3-0. It was the third homer of the season for Rivas. 

Sophomore pitcher India Caldwell improved her record to 6-0 by holding Fullerton scoreless on four hits. The only inning the Hornets had runners in scoring position was the second, when a walk, an infield error and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out. Caldwell struck out the next batter looking and induced a fly out to center to squelch the rally. 

It was the only walk of the game for Caldwell, who had seven strikeouts. 

"It was good to see Mal get a couple of long doubles with two strikes on her, and she made some nice defensive plays at second base," said Comets coach Lacey Craft. "Aaliyah gave us a nice insurance run with her home run." 

The shutout was the fourth for Caldwell in her last four starts. 

"Fullerton has some good hitters and they were aggressive at the plate, but India pitched well," Craft said. 

Palomar is scheduled to play another home game on Thursday against Mt. San Jacinto, weather permitting. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Comets will be at Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday for two games against No. 3 Mt. SAC and Santiago Canyon.