Buck, McKenna, King, Semon Lift PC To 29th Win
CHULA VISTA (4-24-2017) -- Grant Buck, Conor McKenna and Tristan King went a combined 9-for-14 on Tuesday and Ryan Semon came in to pitch the final four innings to slam the door on Southwestern as Palomar pounded the Jaguars 10-5 for its 29th baseball victory.
Buck (3-for-4, home run, double, 3 RBIs, 3 runs scored), McKenna (3-for-5, double, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored) and King (3-for-5, run scored) led the way as the Comets roughed up three Southwestern pitchers for 17 hits.
Semon, who is 9-0 coming out of the bullpen, earned his first save when he entered the game in relief of starter Connor Zaleski to begin the sixth inning with a 6-4 lead and allowed only one hit as he finished the game. The Jaguars scored an unearned run without the benefit of a hit off Semon in the seventh on a passed ball on a strikeout, an error on a sacrifice bunt, another sac bunt and a sacrifice fly.
Semon struck out four batters in his four innings and lowered his season ERA to 1.29, which ranks him second in Southern California and fourth in the state.
Buck's 3-run home run over the rightfield fence in the third inning enabled the Comets to come back from an early 3-0 deficit to give Zaleski (5-2) the pitching win.
Cameron Haskell had a pair of singles and reached base when he was hit by a pitch in the head by Southwestern's Hudson Pearson in the seventh inning. Joey Cooper also contributed 2 singles and added an RBI. Edgar Morales and Jared Montoya each singled to drive in a run, and Marco Young also hit safely.
The Comets advanced to 29-8 on the season and 19-3 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. They remain alone in second place in the conference, one game behind first-place Grossmont, which is 20-2 after an 8-0 victory over College of the Desert on Tuesday.
Coach Buck Taylor's club has two games remaining in the regular season, on Thursday against Southwestern at Palomar College Ballpark and on Friday against the Jaguars back at Southwestern. The Comets have clinched at least second place and an automatic playoff berth.
The Jaguars, who have clinced third place, are 25-13, 14-8 and are vying for an at-large Regional berth.