Comets’ scoreless streak ends, win streak continues

SAN MARCOS (3/27/2024) – Josephine Heuberger provided the bat, Faith Steffany provided the glove, and Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel provided the pitches to carry Palomar College to its 17^th consecutive softball victory Wednesday, a 4-1 nonconference win over El Camino at Bradley Park.

Heuberger, a freshman second baseman, was 3-for-3 at the plate and reached base four times for the No. 2-ranked Comets, who improved their record to 25-1 with their third win in two days. Steffany, a sophomore right fielder, recorded six putouts, including two catches of the highlight reel variety.

Clavel, a sophomore right-hander, retired the first 10 batters she faced and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before a pair of Palomar errors with two out in the fifth led to the only run for No. 11 El Camino (15-10). Clavel finished with her second complete game in as many starts, and her third win in two days to run her season record to 19-1. She finished with one walk and two strikeouts while allowing the unearned run on two hits.

Palomar scored an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore shortstop Tess Altevers-Harris doubled to the gap in left-center field with one out, advanced on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore center fielder Maddie Scott and scored when an infield grounder by freshman catcher Kayla Visser was misplayed for an error.

The score remained 1-0 until the Warriors tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, ending a streak of 36 consecutive scoreless innings pitched by the Comets staff. A pair of shutout wins the previous day during a doubleheader sweep of No. 10 Orange Coast had extended Palomar's streak of shutouts to six games. Clavel retired the final seven El Camino batters she faced to secure the win after Palomar rallied for one run in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth.

Heuberger singled with one out in the fifth, advanced to second when freshman first baseman Breanna Lutz coaxed her second walk of the game and scored the go-ahead run on a two-out single to left by freshman designated player Isabella De Filippis.

Palomar added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth, which began with Altevers-Harris being hit by a pitch. Following another sacrifice bunt by Scott, Visser reached on an infield single. A fielder's choice grounder by Steffany was thrown away for an error to allow Altevers-Harris to score, and Heuberger followed with a two-out RBI single to chase home Steffany.

The top two plays by Steffany during her busy day in the field came in the second inning when she dove to spear a low line drive to the gap by El Camino batter Emily Esparza, and in the fifth inning when Steffany temporarily preserved Clavel's no-hit bid by snagging a liner at the fence by the Warriors' Lilly Lewis.

The Comets have another nonconference rain make-up game Thursday at Chaffey starting at 2 p.m. Palomar returns to Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play April 3 with a home game against San Diego City at 3 p.m.