Comets keep unbeaten record intact with 10-0 win over Dons

SANTA ANA (4/5/2023) – Palomar College broke open a two-run game with a pair of four-run innings en route to a 10-0 softball victory over Santa Ana on Wednesday following a brief layoff from game action. 

The nonconference road win, which had been previously postponed twice earlier by rain, kept the top-ranked Comets unbeaten at 23-0 on the season. The five-inning contest was Palomar's first game in a week after playing seven games over the previous six days. It was also the fourth game in the Comets' last five outings which was ended early by the mercy-run rule. 

The visitors wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as sophomore first baseman Allyson Amato singled to left with one out in the top of the first inning before sophomore designated player Aaliyah Rivas lofted a two-run home run over the left-field fence for her third homer in two games and her 11^th of the season. 

Palomar wrapped up the victory with four runs in the top of the fourth inning and four more in the fifth to support winning pitcher India Caldwell, who improved to 17-0 on the season with her eighth shutout. 

The fourth inning began with consecutive singles by sophomore second baseman Malachy Russell-Millen, freshman third baseman Itzell De Los Rios and sophomore shortstop Elisa Haas to pad the Palomar lead to 3-0. An RBI groundout to second base by sophomore catcher Ellison Hazlett scored De Los Rios, and one out later sophomore left fielder Jonessa Hebreo singled up the middle to bring home Haas for a 5-0 advantage. 

Hebreo showed her speed when she stole second and came around to score from there on an infield single to the right side by freshman right fielder Faith Steffany for a 6-0 Comets lead. 

Palomar kept Santa Ana (12-15) from scoring in the bottom of the fourth when a single and an infield error put runners at the corners. The lead Dons baserunner was erased at home plate on an attempted double steal when Haas relayed home to Hazlett for the tag at the plate. 

The Comets sealed the outcome in the fifth, which began with a leadoff single by Rivas. A run-scoring single by De Los Rios, RBI groundouts by Haas and sophomore center fielder Cadee Herrmann and another RBI single by Hebreo provided the final 10-run margin. 

Caldwell, a sophomore right-hander allowed only two hits and no walks while striking out three batters. She was backed by a 12-hit attack with Amato, Rivas, Russell-Millen, De Los Rios and Hebreo all collecting two hits apiece. 

Palomar will host Mt. San Jacinto on Thursday in another rescheduled non-conference outing at Bradley Park starting at 2 p.m. The Comets will then go back on the road for non-conference games at No. 5 Mt. San Antonio on Saturday and Riverside City on April 11 before returning home for a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference contest against San Diego City on April 13.