Comets win battle in the desert to remain in first

EL CENTRO, CA (3/30/2022) — Palomar pushed Imperial Valley College to the limit on Wednesday as they swept IVC 2-0 in a doubleheader matchup. They broke through in the 13th inning of game one to score eight runs to win 8-0 and easily won game two 13-0 in five innings.

After splitting the first doubleheader earlier in the season, the Comets were ready to head to El Centro to keep the PCAC crown. Locked in a pitcher's duel between India Caldwell and Yeraldine Carrion, Palomar and IVC headed to extras as the score remained 0-0. 

"The game plan for the doubleheader against IVC was to pitch and play defense as tough as possible, we were not going to let them score & play until the sun went down," head coach Lacey Craft said. "We knew if we could hold them down & not let them score, we could keep working on offense to eventually hit Carrion."

Finally, in the 13th inning, the Comets got runners into scoring position. Leading off, Taylor Harrison reached first on an error by the third baseman. Then stole second. Angelique Shermerhorn then reached first on an error by the pitcher and Harrison advanced to third. She then stole second. Malachy Russell-Millen reached on a fielder's choice and Harrison scored while Schermerhorn advanced to third. 

"We were able to steal when we got runners on to put more pressure on the defense," Craft said. "When we put the ball in play their defense couldn't hold up."

And steal bases they did. Russell-Millen stole second for the third stolen base of the inning. Kelly Nutter then reached on a fielder's choice for an RBI as Schermerhorn scored. Nutter then stole second. Alexia Terrazas then singled to score Russell-Millen. The stolen base party kept going as Terrazas stole second. Moving the runners, Hannah Beyer grounded out as Nutter scored and Terrazas advanced to third. Cadee Herrmann then singled and brought Terrazas home. It was then Imperial Valley changed pitchers, but the scoring didn't stop. Samarah Martinez doubled and Herrmann advanced to third. Allyson Amato followed suit and doubled to bring Herrmann and Martinez home. Batting around, Harrison sacrificed herself to bring Amato home for the final run. 

Caldwell allowed five hits and walked one batter. She also recorded a season-high 14 strikeouts. 

"We did everything we could offensively - steal, bunt, slash, and everyone contributed in the 13th inning which was great to see," Craft said. "I'm really proud of the team for showing the physical and mental toughness in that game - it really showed how hard they train and that they could apply it in the most competitive situation we've been in this season."

The Comets kept the scoring party going into the second game as they easily won 13-0 in five innings. 

Palomar moves to 23-4 overall and 6-1 in PCAC play. They will face San Diego Mesa College at 3 p.m. at home on Wednesday.