Comets blanked by Mounties

SAN MARCOS, CA.  (2/14/2020) ---- Held scoreless for the first time in 363 days, Palomar College dropped a 4-0 decision to two-time defending state softball champion Mt. San Antonio in a non-conference contest which featured a no-hitter by Mounties pitcher Alexia Silvas.

Silvas, a sophomore right-hander, improved her season record to 4-0 and kept the Comets off balance with her off-speed pitches while allowing no hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. It was the first time Palomar has been shut out since a 6-0 loss to Mt. SAC on Feb. 16 of last year, a span of 52 games.

"She's a good pitcher, maybe the best we've faced this year," Comets coach Lacey Craft said of Silvas. "Hopefully this will give us more motivation to go back to work and continue to improve."

The Comets advanced runners to second base only twice, in the second and sixth innings, following walks and sacrifice bunts, but were unable to score against Silvas and a Mounties team which played errorless defense while remaining undefeated after nine games.

The visitors, ranked No. 1 in Southern California in the first California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association coaches poll of the season, scored one run on three hits in the top of the first inning against Palomar freshman pitcher Alyssa Domingo. Mt. SAC added another run in the fifth on a leadoff home run to left field by first baseman Emily Goldstein on a 3-2 pitch.

Two walks, followed by a two-out, RBI double by Alexis Lemus and a Palomar error led to a pair of Mt. SAC runs in the seventh inning. The Comets went down in order in the bottom of the seventh to lose for only the second time in nine games.

Domingo (3-2) pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and five walks with five strikeouts. Sophomore Cat Aguilar finished the game.

"Alyssa did a good job against that offense," Craft said.

The Comets, ranked No. 3 in the SoCal poll, will be on the road for their next three games, beginning with El Camino on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The next home game will be Feb. 26 against Grossmont in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference opener.