Posted: Feb 27, 2026
Comets prevail in extras again at OCC
Palomar
(12-0)
8
Orange Coast
(3-6)
5
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palomar | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 1 |
|
Orange Coast | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
COSTA MESA, CA (2/27/2026) – Alexis Huey and Kristina Deal each hit home runs in the top of the eighth inning as the Palomar College softball team claimed its second extra-innings road victory in as many days with an 8-5 triumph Friday at Orange Coast College.
With the score tied at 5-5 going to the eighth inning, Huey led off the top half with a solo home run to left field, the sixth homer of the season for the sophomore first baseman. Sophomore third baseman Aubrey Thorne followed with a walk, and two outs later it was freshman second baseman Deal clouting her fifth home run of the season to center for two more insurance runs.
The nonconference win boosted the Comets' record to 12-0 on the season while the defending Orange Empire Conference co-champion Pirates fell to 3-6. The contest at Orange Coast was the second of three games in three days for No. 2-ranked Palomar, which was slated to host No. 4 Mt. San Antonio on Saturday at noon.
The Comets hit the road to Orange County on Friday one day after surviving its first extra-innings game of the season, a 7-6 victory at No. 19 San Diego Mesa. After the Pirates scored a first-inning run on a leadoff home run, Palomar tied the score in the second inning on two walks and an RBI single by Huey.
Orange Coast reclaimed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second, but the visitors responded with four runs of their own in the top of the third, which began with a leadoff single by sophomore designated player Lauren Doepping. Palomar loaded the bases with one out after sophomore center fielder Gisele Gonzalez was hit by a pitch and sophomore left fielder Taylor Armstrong singled.
Sophomore catcher Dominique Garcia followed with a two-run single to center, and sophomore shortstop Nalia Nuanez added another two-run single up the middle as the Comets established a 5-4 advantage.
A walk and a double led to an Orange Coast run in the bottom of the fifth which knotted the score at 5-5, and it remained that way until the eighth-inning rally by Palomar.
Sophomore pitcher Kiara Flaviani started in the circle for the Comets and worked the first five innings before being relieved by freshman Gianna Burgin to begin the bottom of the sixth. Burgin, who made her season debut the previous day, pitched two scoreless innings before Flaviani returned to pitch the eighth.
As she was the pitcher of record when the Comets took the lead in the eighth, Burgin was credited with her first win of the season. She allowed no hits in two innings with one walk, one hit batter and one strikeout.
Flaviani allowed a leadoff single before retiring the next three batters to secure the win and earn the first save of the season for the Palomar pitching staff.
Huey had three hits for the second straight game, and Nuanez finished with two hits as the two infielders accounted for half of Palomar's 10 hits.
Following Saturday's non-conference game against Mt. SAC, the Comets return to Pacific Coast Athletic Conference action on March 3 with a home game against Imperial Valley at 1 p.m.