Comets advance with sweep of Allan Hancock

SAN MARCOS (5/6/2023) – Palomar College advanced to the second round of the California Community College Athletic Association softball playoffs by completing a sweep of a best-of-3 series against Allan Hancock with an 8-1 victory Saturday at Bradley Park. 

Seeded No. 1 for the Southern California Regionals, the Comets lived up to their billing while improving their record to 38-1. Palomar will host a best-of-3 second-round series in the Super Regionals beginning May 12 against No. 8 seed Santiago Canyon, which won the deciding Game 3 against No. 9 Antelope Valley, 5-0, on Saturday after those two teams split their first two Regional games. 

The season ended for No. 16 seed Allan Hancock at 23-16, but not before the Bulldogs extended the Comets to seven innings for the first time in Palomar's last 10 games, ending a streak of nine straight wins shortened by the mercy-run rule. It was also just the fifth time in the last 21 games Palomar has played seven or more innings. 

"We knew coming in that it can be easy to lose focus in the second game after winning Game 1," said Comets coach Lacey Craft. "That's something we worked hard on, and we knew the task at hand was to finish it today. 

"Anything can happen at this point of the season, so you have to play your best." 

Freshman pitcher Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel surrendered a first-inning run and then held Allan Hancock scoreless over the final six innings to remain unbeaten on the season with a 13-0 record. She allowed four hits with one walk, one hit batter and four strikeouts. 

With Allan Hancock batting in the bottom of the first as the designated home team, a leadoff hit batter, a fielder's choice grounder and a two-out RBI single gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead which put the Comets in position of trailing in a game for the first time at home all season, a stretch covering 20 games. 

The deficit did not last long as sophomore shortstop Elisa Haas led off the top of the second with a triple to the right-field corner and scored one out later when a grounder to shortstop by freshman designated player Mariah Briceno was misplayed for an error, tying the score at 1-1. 

Palomar took the lead one inning later as another Allan Hancock error led to two quick runs in the top of the third. Sophomore first baseman Allyson Amato led off the inning with a single up the middle, and when freshman right fielder Faith Steffany dropped a sacrifice bunt down the third-base side, the throw to first was high and ended up in right field, allowing both Amato and Steffany to come around and score. 

A leadoff single to center by freshman third baseman Itzell De Los Rios and a two-out double to center by Amato led to a fourth-inning run, and sophomore catcher Ellison Hazlett provided a two-run single to center in the fifth after Steffany and sophomore second baseman Malachy Russell-Millen began the inning with singles. 

The Bulldogs threatened in the bottom of the fifth but had a potential run cut off at the plate when a leadoff walk was followed by a double to the right-field fence which sophomore center fielder Cadee Herrmann relayed to Russell-Millen, who fired home to Hazlett ahead of the runner for the first out of the inning. A groundout back to Clavel in the circle and a strikeout finished off the frame. 

A leadoff pinch-hit single by sophomore Aaliyah Rivas led to a sacrifice fly to left by Amato in the sixth, and a one-out double to right by Briceno, another single by De Los Rios and another infield error produced Palomar's final run in the seventh inning. 

De Los Rios finished with a double and two singles as the Comets supported Clavel with 11 hits at the plate while extending their current win streak to 13 games going into the Super Regional round. 

The top four teams from Southern California and the top four from Northern California will converge on Mt. San Antonio College May 18-21 for the CCCAA state tournament.