Rivas HRs carry Comets past Chaffey

SAN MARCOS (3/7/2023) – Held without a run through three innings despite four hits and five baserunners, Palomar College's top-ranked softball team broke a scoreless stalemate with a five-run fourth-inning outburst and went on to defeat Chaffey, 8-0, in a non-conference game Tuesday at Bradley Park. 

Sophomore designated player Aaliyah Rivas capped the fourth-inning rally with a two-run home run to center field, and after the Comets added two more runs in the fifth, Rivas ended the contest with a walk-off solo homer to left field leading off the sixth inning, giving Palomar enough runs to bring on the mercy-run rule. 

"We were hitting the ball hard with no runs to show for it, and then we beat out some infield hits to get us going in the fourth inning," said coach Lacey Craft, whose club improved to 12-0 on the season. 

The Comets finished with 12 hits to support the shutout pitching of sophomore right-hander India Caldwell, who allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five batters. 

"Chaffey didn't back down against India," Craft said. "We had to play defense behind her." 

Caldwell picked up two wins on Saturday when she blanked No. 8 Bakersfield 4-0 and then pitched four innings of shutout relief in an 8-3 victory over No. 18 Folsom Lake. The win over Chaffey (6-8) was her ninth against no losses in addition to being her sixth shutout of the season. 

Sophomore shortstop Elisa Haas ignited the fourth-inning rally by beating out an infield single to short for her second hit of the game. Haas, who also had two hits in the win over Folsom Lake, advanced to second on a one-out infield single by sophomore center fielder Cadee Herrmann and scored on a pinch-hit double to right field by freshman Mariah Briceno (Mission Hills HS).  

A sacrifice fly to right by freshman right fielder Faith Steffany (Rancho Buena Vista HS) brought home Herrmann with the second run of the inning, and sophomore first baseman Allyson Amato followed with an RBI single to right-center to pad the Palomar lead to 3-0. 

Amato, who had a two-run single during a seven-run, seventh-inning rally against Folsom Lake, scored ahead of a deep blast to center by Rivas, who also had a solo homer against Folsom Lake. 

A two-run, two-out single by sophomore left fielder Jonessa Hebreo in the fifth expanded Palomar's lead to 7-0, and Rivas ended the contest with her fifth round-tripper of the season to start the sixth. 

The contest was the first home game in two weeks for the Comets, who had five consecutive games postponed by soggy weather. 

"We couldn't get on the field for a week-and-a-half, so it was interesting to see how we would come back from that," said Craft. "It was a long drive to Bakersfield, but it was a good opportunity to compete in a three-way against two good teams. 

"I was glad to see us respond with another good win today before we open conference play." 

Palomar has a road game against Southwestern on Wednesday to begin its Pacific Coast Athletic Conference schedule. The Comets will host San Diego Mesa in another PCAC contest tentatively scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m., weather permitting.