Posted: Feb 28, 2026
Mt. SAC reverses Comets’ late-inning fortune
Mt. San Antonio
(14-2)
3
Palomar
(12-1)
2
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mt. San Antonio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
|
Palomar | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
SAN MARCOS, CA (2/28/2026) – Asked to report to three different cities over three days, the Palomar College softball team was also required to put in extra duty all three days when all three games went extra innings.
After winning the first two of those eight-inning encounters, the Comets were unable to keep the late-game heroics going on Saturday in a matchup of two of the state's top four teams. Mt. San Antonio, ranked No. 4 in the current California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association state poll, overcame a two-run deficit and scored the winning run in the top of the eighth inning to hand No. 2 Palomar its first loss of the season, 3-2.
Prior to Saturday's nonconference game, the Comets had outlasted San Diego Mesa, 7-6, on Thursday, and Orange Coast, 8-5, on Friday in a pair of eight-inning road wins which kept Palomar unbeaten after 12 games.
It appeared the Comets might be on their way to another win on Saturday when sophomore first baseman Alexis Huey followed a leadoff single by sophomore catcher Dominique Garcia with a two-run home run to left field, breaking a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning.
The home run was Huey's seventh of the season, and the Comets maintained their 2-0 lead through five innings against Mt. SAC. The Mounties kept the score close by denying Palomar with numerous strong defensive plays, but none were more clutch than the double play which ended the bottom of the fifth inning after the hosts loaded the bases with one out.
One-out singles by Huey and sophomore left fielder Taylor Armstrong were followed by a walk to sophomore designated player Lauren Doepping as Palomar loaded the bases, but a diving catch in center field on a line drive by freshman right fielder Emma Schneider resulted in a throw to second base for a pickoff as the visitors converted an inning-ending double play.
Mt. San Antonio was held scoreless on just two hits over the first five innings by sophomore pitcher Kiara Flaviani, but the Mounties rallied in the top of the sixth inning with two runs on four singles. Flaviani kept the score tied with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.
Neither team threatened again until the eighth, when Flaviani issued her only two walks of the game and allowed a run-scoring single with one out in the top of the inning as Mt. SAC took a 3-2 lead. The Comets were retired in order for the third straight inning in the bottom of the eighth, securing the win for the Mounties and lifting their record to 14-2.
Huey's two hits gave her a team-leading 28 hits for the season, and she also currently leads Palomar with a .609 batting average. The Comets managed just four other singles against Mt. SAC, finishing in single digits in total hits for a game for the first time this season with six.
Flaviani absorbed her first loss of the season after 11 wins. She scattered seven hits over eight innings and struck out five.
Palomar returns to Pacific Coast Athletic Conference action on March 3 with a home game against Imperial Valley at 1 p.m. The Comets are currently 3-0 in the PCAC standings.