Comets cage Cougars with scoreless sweep

SAN MARCOS (4/22/2023) – Base hits proved to be a difficult commodity to come by on Saturday for the College of the Canyons softball team. 

The No. 16-ranked Cougars were limited to just two hits over two games as No. 1-ranked Palomar College swept a nonconference doubleheader with a pair of shutouts at Bradley Park. It was sophomore right-hander India Caldwell blanking the visitors on two hits for a 9-0 victory in Game 1, and Caldwell pitched the final inning of Game 2 after freshman starter Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel spun four scoreless innings as the pair combined on a no-hitter in an 8-0 Palomar win. 

"Two shutouts was a great way to end a long week," said Comets coach Lacey Craft, whose club played seven games over an eight-day stretch while improving to 33-1 on the season. "Beginning with the sweep of Cypress last Saturday, and then getting a big win at Fullerton on Tuesday. 

"Then we had to beat a Southwestern team that had played us close earlier this season. I like that we are finishing strong and are getting a lot of people involved in our wins." 

Palomar has only three regular-season games remaining on its schedule. The Comets can clinch their ninth straight Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championship with a win in any of the three games, beginning with a rescheduled home contest against San Diego City on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Comets are scheduled to visit Imperial Valley for a doubleheader on Wednesday to close out the conference schedule. 

The Comets got off to another quick start by sending nine batters to the plate while scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 of Saturday's twinbill against Canyons. Sophomore first baseman Allyson Amato sparked the rally with a leadoff double to center field, and after sophomore second baseman Malachy Russell-Millen was hit by a pitch with two out, sophomore shortstop Elisa Haas connected on a two-run triple down the right-field line. 

Sophomore catcher Ellison Hazlett followed with an RBI double to left, and freshman designated player Mariah Briceno and sophomore center fielder Cadee Herrmann both added RBI singles as Palomar scored all five runs after two outs. 

Haas came through again with a two-run single in the second inning after Amato and freshman right fielder Faith Steffany reached base with a walk and a double. Palomar secured the outcome with two more runs in the fourth on a two-out, two-run double to center by Briceno after a walk to Russell-Millen and a single by Haas for her third hit of the game. 

Caldwell held the Cougars hitless through four innings as the only Canyons baserunners came courtesy of an infield error in the first inning and a hit batter in the second. Neither runner advanced further than first base as the first-inning runner was thrown out by Hazlett attempting to steal second, and the second-inning runner was stranded at first by a running catch into the fence by Haas on a foul pop-up to the third-base side before Caldwell struck out the next two batters. 

The first two Canyons batters in the top of the fifth inning both reached base with singles to break up the no-hit bid, but Caldwell retired the next three batters, including with her sixth strikeout, to improve to 22-1 on the season with her 10^th shutout. 

Just as Caldwell did in Game 1, Clavel held the Cougars without a hit for the first four innings of Game 2. The only baserunners for Canyons came on a first-inning walk, a second-inning walk and a fourth-inning hit batter. Caldwell took over in the circle in the fifth and pitched a perfect inning to be in position for a possible save as Palomar took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth. 

The Comets built their three-run lead on a pair of hits by Russell-Millen. Her two-out double to left-center in the first scored Amato, who led off the inning with a single to left. Amato and Steffany were both aboard with singles in the third when Russell-Millen roped a two-out, two-run single to left. 

Palomar put the game away with a five-run rally in the fifth, with all of the runs again scoring after two were out. An infield single by Steffany, a two-out walk to Russell-Millen and an error on a grounder to shortstop by Haas led to the first run of the inning. A two-run single to right by Hazlett gave the hosts a 6-0 advantage before a single by Clavel and a double by Herrmann padded the lead to 7-0. 

After sophomore pinch-hitter Alexis Ruelas drew a walk to load the bases, Amato was hit by a pitch to drive in the game-winning run and provide the Comets with their fifth consecutive win by the mercy-run rule. Clavel picked up the win in the circle to improve her record to 11-0.

Haas and Briceno combined for five hits and seven RBIs in Game 1 against Canyons (23-13), while Steffany and Hazlett each had two singles in Game 2. Steffany also had four stolen bases on the day, with two thefts in each game, and Russell-Millen reached base in all six of her plate appearances. The Comets' clean-up batter was hit by a pitch twice and walked while scoring two runs in Game 1, and she doubled, singled and walked with one run scored in Game 2. 

Palomar has now won eight straight games since its only loss of the season, a 3-2 decision in eight innings at No. 3 Mt. San Antonio on April 8.