Comets reignite to down Santiago Canyon, Mt. SAC
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palomar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
|
Mt. San Antonio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
WALNUT, CA. (2/24/2024) – Palomar College bounced back quickly from its first loss of the softball season, securing a pair of non-conference wins Saturday against Santiago Canyon and Mt. San Antonio.
The games were part of a three-way involving Palomar, Mt. SAC and Santiago Canyon originally scheduled to be played at Bradley Park in San Marcos. The games were moved to the softball complex at Mt. SAC due to wet grounds at Bradley.
One day after dropping its first decision of the season at Fullerton, Palomar took to the road again and found success twice to improve its record to 10-1. The Comets claimed a 3-1 win over Santiago Canyon for their second win over the Hawks in 10 days, and Palomar followed up with a 7-4 triumph over Mt. SAC.
Palomar, ranked No. 3 in the latest 3CFCA poll, dispatched of Santiago Canyon before taking on No. 6 Mt. SAC, and the Comets were holding a slim 2-1 lead over the Mounties after four innings before scoring five runs in the top of the fifth to pull away for the win.
The Comets collected 11 hits against Mt. SAC (8-6), including a pair of doubles by sophomore shortstop Tess Altevers-Harris. Freshman first baseman Breanna Lutz added a double and a single, sophomore third baseman Itzell De Los Rios and freshman second baseman Josephine Heuberger had two hits apiece, and freshman catcher Kayla Visser drove in two runs with a fourth-inning double and a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
Altevers-Harris and Heuberger each scored twice for the Comets, who sent nine batters to the plate and had five hits during the big fifth-inning rally which was ignited by a one-out single by Heuberger.
Sophomore pitcher Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel went the distance in the circle for the winners, allowing four runs and nine hits over seven innings. Clavel walked none, hit one batter and struck out one while improving her record to 6-1.
Palomar has an additional nonconference test before beginning Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play. The Comets will be on the road again Tuesday at Mt. San Jacinto for a 2:30 p.m. contest rescheduled from Feb. 9 due to rain. Palomar opens the conference schedule at Grossmont on Wednesday at 3 p.m., and the Comets host No. 19 Southwestern on Friday at Bradley Park starting at 1 p.m.