Comets blanks Knights for ninth straight win

SAN DIEGO (3/13/2024) – Three pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout as Palomar College returned to conference action Wednesday with a 12-0 whitewash of San Diego City in a game shaved to five innings by the mercy-run rule.

Palomar improved its season record to 17-1 while winning its fourth Pacific Coast Athletic Conference softball contest without a loss. The Comets collected 14 hits and scored in all five innings against the Knights (7-11, 0-4).

Freshman pitchers Nevaeh Haywood, Maddie Bedolla and Samantha Saldivar combined on Palomar's ninth shutout of the season. Haywood started and pitched three innings for her sixth win in as many decisions. The only baserunner allowed by Haywood reached on a two-out single in the bottom of the first inning, and she finished with five strikeouts.

The only other San Diego City baserunner came on a hit batter in the fourth inning.

Freshman first baseman Breanna Lutz had two hits for the Comets, including a two-out single in the top of the first which ignited a three-run rally for the visitors. A two-run single to center field by freshman designated player Isabella De Filippis gave the Comets an early 3-0 lead.

Freshman second baseman Josephine Heuberger added a two-run triple in the second inning, freshman catcher Kayla Visser tripled home a run in the third, and sophomore right-fielder Faith Steffany and sophomore shortstop Tess Altevers-Harris finished with two hits apiece, including a run-scoring double by Altevers-Harris during a four-run fourth-inning rally by the Comets.

Eleven different players accounted for at least one hit as Palomar extended its win streak to nine consecutive games. The Comets have back-to-back home games slated for Friday and Saturday at Bradley Park, hosting Grossmont in a PCAC contest and Cerritos in a non-conference meeting with both games starting at 1 p.m.