Posted: May 18, 2025
Comets’ state run ends in championship final
San Mateo
(43-3)
7
Palomar
(44-5)
4
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Mateo | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 3 |
|
Palomar | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
SARATOGA, CA (5/18/2025) – After a thrilling four-game run over two days, Palomar College was one of the last two teams standing on the final day of the 2025 California Community College Athletic Association softball season.
In the end, the Comets finally ran out of fuel as they came up on the short end of a 7-4 score Sunday against College of San Mateo in the championship final for the 3C2A State Championship at West Valley College. The result left Palomar with a final season record of 44-5.
San Mateo won all four of its state tournament games, capping off its season with a 43-3 record and a 16-game win streak. The state title is the second for the Bulldogs, who also won it in 2022.
Palomar was making its second championship game appearance in three years and the fourth in the past six seasons under head coach Lacey Craft. This year's championship pairing was a rematch of the 2015 state finals at Bakersfield College, when Palomar defeated San Mateo for the Comets' most recent of five state crowns.
Palomar came into Sunday's final having won four consecutive elimination games against Modesto, West Valley, El Camino and Yuba following a 4-2 first-round loss to San Mateo on Thursday.
The first two batters reached base in the bottom of the second inning for Palomar when sophomore catcher Isabella De Filippis was hit by a pitch and freshman left fielder Taylor Armstrong singled. Two outs later, sophomore third baseman Brianna Lutz walked to load the bases, and when sophomore second baseman Josephine Hueberger's fly ball to left field was misplayed for an error, two runs came across for an early 2-0 Comets lead.
The Bulldogs tied the score in the top of the third on a two-out, two-run single by pitcher Nohemi Livingston, and San Mateo took a 3-2 lead the following inning on a leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt and a run-scoring double.
Two more hits and a fielder's choice led to a 5-2 advantage for the Bulldogs, at which point Maddie Bedolla replaced Nevaeh Haywood in the pitching circle for the Comets. Bedolla, a sophomore left-hander, retired the next two batters to end the inning and keep the deficit to three runs.
A Palomar error was followed by a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the fifth, padding San Mateo's lead to 7-2.
The Comets loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning when Lutz and Heuberger each singled and freshman designated player Lauren Doepping was hit by a pitch. Freshman right fielder Alexis Huey then delivered a two-run single to left field to cut San Mateo's lead to 7-4.
Armstrong reached base on an infield error to lead off the bottom of the seventh for Palomar, but Livingston retired the next three batters on infield groundouts to secure the title for the Bulldogs. Livingston was the winning pitcher in all four of San Mateo's state wins and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Each team had eight hits, and the Comets left 12 runners on base. Lutz had two singles for Palomar, and the only extra-base hit for the Comets was a two-out double by Karam in the first inning.
Haywood, the winning pitcher in all eight of Palomar's playoff wins including four at the state tournament, absorbed the loss as the right-hander finished her sophomore season with a record of 24-4 and the honor of being named the Most Valuable Pitcher of the state tournament.
Haywood was joined by six teammates on the All-Tournament team. Lutz, the 3C2A South State Player of the Year, was named Best Hitter of the state tourney after batting .500 (11-for-22) with a home run and a double.
Hueberger and Karam were also named to the All-Tournament team after each player collected eight hits, including a double, triple and home run for both. Lutz, Hueberger and Karam all drove in six runs apiece during the tournament.
Also named to the All-Tournament team were De Filippis, Huey and Nalia Nuanez, with the Comets' freshman shortstop earning the tournament's Gold Glove award.