Comets flex their muscle, rout Griffins

SAN MARCOS (3/15/2024) – Three players slugged home runs Friday as the Palomar College softball team remained unbeaten in conference play with a 15-3 romp over Grossmont on a blustery day at Bradley Park.

Playing their first home game in two weeks, the No. 3-ranked Comets got off to a fast start with a four-run first inning before sending 15 batters to the plate in the third for their second 11-run inning in three games. By the time the outcome was settled, Palomar had its fifth Pacific Coast Athletic Conference win without a loss while improving to 18-1 overall.

The hosts took a 2-0 lead two batters into their half of the first inning when freshman second baseman Josephine Heuberger followed a leadoff walk to sophomore right-fielder Faith Steffany with a home run to deep right field, the first four-bagger of the season for Heuberger.

Sophomore shortstop Tess Altevers-Harris showed she could go deep with her first homer of the year, a three-run blast in the third inning which gave Palomar an 8-0 advantage. That was enough of a margin for the mercy-run rule which came into play after the Comets continued to build on their lead.

Palomar took advantage of three Grossmont errors and four walks during the big inning, and sophomore third baseman Itzell De Los Rios added to the power surge with her second home run of the season, a two-run liner to left which also scored pinch-hitter Sara Vega.

Grossmont (2-18, 1-4) contributed to the Comets' cause by issuing seven walks and committing four errors. Palomar had eight hits, including a 3-for-3 performance by freshman designated player Isabella De Filippis, who had a run-scoring single in the first and an RBI double in the third. De Filippis batted again in the third inning and singled before scoring on a two-run triple to left-center by sophomore center fielder Maddie Scott which capped off the 11-run outburst.

The Comets used three pitchers while recording their 10^th straight victory. Sophomore right-hander Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel started in the circle and worked three scoreless innings to improve her record to 13-1. She struck out seven of the 10 batters she faced, including striking out the side in the second inning after allowing a leadoff single.

Freshman right-hander Nevaeh Haywood pitched the fourth inning and struck out the side around allowing two runs on three hits. Freshman left-hander Maddie Bedolla pitched the fifth and allowed one run on one hit with two walks and one strikeout.

Palomar was scheduled to host Cerritos in a non-conference game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bradley Park, but the weather interferred and the game has been postponed. The Comets will return to PCAC competition with a road game at Southwestern on March 20 and a home contest against San Diego Mesa on March 22.