Palomar opens conference with a sweep
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palomar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 20 | 1 |
|
Imperial Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
SAN MARCOS, CA (3/1/2024) -- Palomar College swept the conference opening series against Imperial Valley College with a pair of wins on Thursday (13-7) and Friday (17-0).
In Thursday's game, the Comets attacked early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Sophomore utility player Luke Matthews launched his first home run of the season over the leftfield fence to give the Comets a 1-0 lead. After a groundout RBI by Makana Olaso, Anthony Pacino stepped to the plate and launched a two-run homer to score Noah Lazuka and himself to take the 4-0 lead. Imperial bounced back with four runs in the top of the third, but the Comets weren't going to let them get hot. Palomar responded with four runs of their won to make it 8-4. The Comets tacked on one run in the fourth and three more in the fifth and added an insurance run in the eighth. Pacino finished 4-5 on the day with four RBI and two runs. Lauka also finished 4-5 with three RBI and three runs. Sophomore shortstop Ian Halverson finished 3-4 with three RBI and a run. Eric Van Valkenburg started on the mound for the Comets and landed the decision to move to 3-1 on the season. He went five innings and allowed six runs on eight hits and struck out one. Holden Carpenter pitched two innings and struck out five of eight batters faced and allowed one hit. Lucas Smith closed out the game for the Comets and allowed one run on three hits and struck out three.
A long bus ride out to the desert was not stopping the Comets from slowing down their offense or pitching. Ryan Herrod (2-0) got over his first-inning slump and pitched seven solid innings allowing just three hits and striking out 11, half the batters he faced. Noah Benavides closed the game recorded two strikeouts and allowed one hit. On the offensive side of things, Halverson is starting to warm up. After going 3-4 on Thursday, he went 2-4 as he launched his third homer of the season. He totaled three runs and two RBI. Ryan Rivera had a team-high three RBI and went 2-5. Troy Connor was the only other Comet who recorded multiple RBI.
Palomar moves to 8-7 on the season and takes a 2-0 lead in conference play. They will start their series with Grossmont College on Tuesday. With weather moving into the area, be sure to check the website for most up to date scheduling.