Comets top Mesa, close in on PCAC flag

SAN MARCOS (4/21/2023) – Moving one step closer to repeating as Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champions, the top-ranked Palomar College softball team completed a season sweep of San Diego Mesa with a 9-1 victory over the Olympians on Friday. 

Palomar remained unbeaten in conference play at 9-0 while improving to 31-1 overall. The Comets have a 2½-game lead over Mesa in the PCAC standings with three conference games remaining on their schedule. Palomar can clinch the conference crown with a win Tuesday in a rain make-up game at home against San Diego City. 

"But first we have the doubleheader against Canyons on Saturday," reminded coach Lacey Craft. "A couple of wins there could help our RPI." 

The Comets will host College of the Canyons from the Western States Conference in a twinbill on Saturday at Bradley Park. Game 1 is scheduled to start at noon. 

Palomar was locked in a 1-1 tie with Mesa before a six-run third inning carried the Comets to victory, ending an eight-game win streak by the Olympians (16-13, 7-3). Freshman pitcher Guilianna "Gigi" Clavel went the distance for her 10^th win against no losses, limiting the Olympians to one run on five hits through five innings. She walked one batter, hit one batter and struck out one batter while being the beneficiary of two double plays turned by the Palomar defense. 

The game's first run came courtesy of the sun as a one-out pop-up by the Clavel to the left side of the infield became a solar single when the ball was lost in the sky fell untouched to the ground. After being sacrificed to second by sophomore center fielder Cadee Herrmann, Clavel scored ahead of a double down the third-base line by sophomore left fielder Jonessa Hebreo. 

Mesa tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the third with a double and two singles, but Clavel held the visitors scoreless on one hit the rest of the way. 

Palomar batted around in the bottom of the third, which began with a single by Faith Steffany, the second of the game for the freshman rightfielder. Ensuing singles by second baseman Malachy Russell-Millen, sophomore catcher Ellison Hazlett and Hebreo preceded an RBI double to right by sophomore first baseman Allyson Amato as the Comets also took advantage of two Mesa errors to score six runs for a 7-1 lead. 

A single by freshman third baseman Itzell De Los Rios, a passed ball and a stolen base led to a run-scoring single by Hazlett in the fourth inning, and the Comets sealed the outcome with the clinching run in the fifth when sophomore Alexis Ruelas led off the inning with a pinch-hit single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single up the middle by De Los Rios. 

The Comets had 12 hits with Hebreo accounting for a double and a single, and Steffany, De Los Rios and Hazlett providing two singles apiece. 

"We separated ourselves again by keeping up the pressure," Craft said of her team's big inning, which led to the 10^th win by the mercy-run rule in Palomar's last 14 outings. The Comets batted around at least once in all three wins over Mesa this season. 

Following Saturday's nonconference doubleheader against College of the Canyons, the Comets close out the regular season with PCAC games on Tuesday at home against San Diego City and on Wednesday on the road at Imperial Valley for a scheduled doubleheader.