Posted: May 03, 2025
Comets advance with sweep of Cougars
Palomar
(38-3)
7
Canyons
(20-22)
3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palomar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 0 |
|
Canyons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
SAN MARCOS, CA (5/3/2025) – Palomar College moved one step closer toward qualifying for the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship tournament by completing a two-game sweep Saturday against College of the Canyons in the first round of the Southern California Regional softball playoffs.
A 7-3 victory in Game 2 followed an 8-0 win on Friday in Game 1 as the Comets secured their spot for the second round of the SoCal Regionals while improving to 38-3 on the season. Seeded No. 3, Palomar will host No. 6 seed Cerritos in another best-of-three series beginning May 9 at 2 p.m. on the Comets' diamond. The Falcons (31-10) also advanced by sweeping two first-round games, eliminating No. 11 Citrus by scores of 3-2 and 5-0.
Nevaeh Haywood started both games in the circle for Palomar, pitching four scoreless innings in each outing to improve to 18-2 on the season with the back-to-back wins. The sophomore right-hander retired 12 of the 14 batters she faced in Game 2, allowing just a one-out walk in the first inning and a one-out hit batter in the third. Neither baserunner advanced past first base.
Haywood and two relievers were supported by a 16-hit attack in Game 2, and the Comets provided errorless defense in both wins.
Six different batters had at least two hits in the series clincher for Palomar, which was the designated visiting team for Game 2. Sophomore third baseman Breanna Lutz led off the contest with her first of two doubles, and sophomore first baseman Zoe Karam and freshman designated player Lauren Doepping followed with run-scoring singles as the Comets claimed a quick 2-0 first-inning lead.
Consecutive singles by sophomore catcher Isabella De Filippis, freshman center fielder Gisele Gonzalez and freshman shortstop Nalia Nuanez loaded the bases to start the second inning, and a sacrifice fly to center field by sophomore second baseman Josephine Hueberger scored De Filippis to pad Palomar's lead to 3-0.
A two-out rally in the top of the third produced another run when freshman left fielder Taylor Armstrong and De Filippis each singled and Gonzalez followed with an RBI double down the left-field line.
The Comets increased their lead to 7-0 with three runs in the fourth inning, all scoring with two outs on an RBI single by freshman right fielder Alexis Huey and a two-run triple to right by Armstrong.
After her scoreless stint in the circle which included one strikeout, Haywood departed with a 7-0 lead and was relieved by sophomore left-hander Maddie Bedolla, who pitched a scoreless fifth inning but allowed a two-out home run in the bottom of the sixth for the Cougars' first run of the series.
Freshman right-hander Kiara Flaviani took over in the circle for the seventh inning, retiring the first two batters before being touched for two runs on a walk, a single and a double. Flaviani struck out the final Canyons batter looking for her second strikeout of the inning, ending the Cougars' season at 20-22.
Doepping had three hits for Palomar, and Lutz, Heuberger, Armstrong, De Filippis and Gonzalez all had two hits apiece.
In Game 1 on Friday, the Comets needed only a half-dozen hits en route to the victory in five innings as the Cougars contributed to the Palomar cause by issuing seven walks and committing three errors.
Lutz scored three runs, beginning in the first inning when she drew a leadoff walk, advanced on a bunt single by Hueberger and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Doepping for a quick 1-0 lead.
Palomar plated four runs in the second inning on just one hit, that being a leadoff home run over the left-field fence left by De Filippis on the first pitch of the at-bat for her third round-tripper of the season.
Four walks, an error and a bases-loaded hit by pitch absorbed by Armstrong led to three additional runs as the hosts assumed a 5-0 advantage after two innings.
Gonzalez led off the bottom of the third inning with her third home run of the season, also to left field. A single to left by Nuanez, a run-scoring triple to left-center field by Lutz and a sacrifice fly to center by Heuberger produced two more runs for an 8-0 Palomar lead, enough of a cushion for the mercy-run rule to take effect after five innings.
Haywood started in the circle and pitched four scoreless innings for the win. She walked two, hit a batter and struck out one while allowing three hits. A double play kept the shutout intact after the Cougars loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second inning on a single and two walks. Haywood induced a Canyons pinch-hitter to line out to Lutz, who quickly relayed to Karam for a 5-3 twin-killing to end the inning.
Bedolla pitched a scoreless fifth inning, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout to secure Palomar's 19th shutout of the season.
The 3C2A State Championship is being held May 15-18 at West Valley and San Jose City colleges, where the four surviving teams from the South Regionals will converge with the four remaining squads from the North Regionals. The other second-round pairings in the South include top-seeded Orange Coast (30-7) against No. 8 Saddleback (25-14), No. 2 Cypress facing No. 10 Fullerton (19-21) and No. 4 Long Beach City (38-4) taking on No. 5 El Camino (35-7) with all three matchups featuring conference rivals squaring off again.