Posted: May 09, 2026
Comets overcome Marauders, advance to state tourney
Antelope Valley
(32-13)
7
Palomar
(41-2)
15
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Antelope Valley | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 5 |
|
Palomar | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
SAN MARCOS, CA (5/9/2026) – Palomar College is returning to the 3C2A state softball championship tournament for the fourth straight season, but Antelope Valley College did not go quietly in their best-of-3 series in the Southern California Super Regionals.
After dropping an 8-4 decision in the first game of the series on Friday, the Marauders extended the top-seeded Comets to three games on Saturday by winning game two, 11-9, with a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning capped by a walk-off home run.
With Palomar facing a must-win situation following its first loss in 29 games, the Comets prevailed in the third and deciding game with a 15-7 victory in six innings to end Antelope Valley's season. Ava Alvarez and Lauren Doepping combined for seven hits and Kiara Flaviani pitched three strong innings in relief to help continue the season for the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champions.
Palomar will be the South Region's top seed with a 41-2 record when the state tournament begins May 14 at Bakersfield College. The Comets will be joined by the other three SoCal Super Regional winners, including San Diego Mesa, Long Beach City and Saddleback. Representing the North Region will be defending state champion College of San Mateo, San Joaquin Delta, Consumnes River and Santa Rosa.
As the North's lowest seed, Santa Rosa (25-18) will be Palomar's first-round opponent in the third of four games scheduled for the tournament's first day of competition. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. Seeded No. 13 for the Northern California Regionals, the Bear Cubs eliminated No. 5 seed Hartnell in the NorCal Super Regionals despite losing the first game of their best-of-3 series.
The winner of the Palomar-Santa Rosa game will play the next day against the winner of the first-round matchup between San Joaquin Delta and Long Beach City.
The Comets were three outs away from a two-game sweep of Antelope Valley after scoring three runs in the top of the eighth inning as the designated visiting team for game two of their series. The game was tied at 6-6 after seven innings, and the top of the seventh began with a leadoff walk by freshman pinch-hitter Delaney Smith. After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore shortstop Nalia Nuanez, Smith came around to score on an RBI double to center field by sophomore first baseman Alexis Huey.
Freshman right fielder Kailey Dain followed with her fourth hit of the game, and one out later Doepping hit a two-run single to left to pad Palomar's lead to 9-6.
Antelope Valley and Palomar came into their series as the top two home run-hitting teams in the South Region, and they combined for five homers in the first game on Friday. The Marauders didn't let up in game two as they hit four home runs, with first baseman Marley Delgado again providing the bulk of the power.
Delgado hit two home runs on Friday and she added two more round-trippers in game two. Her second homer was a two-run, walk-off shot in the bottom of the eighth which broke a 9-9 deadlock and dealt Palomar pitcher Gianna Burgin her first loss of the season after three wins. Burgin, a freshman right-hander who was the winning pitcher in the series opener, took over in the pitching circle in the fifth inning after Flaviani started and worked three innings, allowing five runs on four hits. Haley Smith pitched one inning of scoreless relief in the fourth.
Burgin surrendered a solo home run to Delgado in the fifth before pitching two scoreless innings. After Palomar took the lead in the top of the eighth, a leadoff single started the bottom of the inning for Antelope Valley. A walk, a double, a sacrifice fly and another single preceded Delgado's game-winning home run with two outs as the Marauders handed the Comets their first loss since Feb. 28.
Dain reached base five times for Palomar with four singles and a walk, and she scored three runs. Doepping drove in three runs with her two singles, and Alvarez had a double and a single.
The 11 runs and 13 hits by Antelope Valley were both the most allowed by the Comets this season.
Delgado gave her team an early lead in the third and deciding game when she hit her fifth home run of the series in the top of the first inning, giving the Marauders a 2-0 lead. Palomar responded with two runs in the bottom of the first with the help of two Antelope Valley errors, a run-scoring single by Alvarez and an RBI groundout by sophomore left fielder Taylor Armstrong.
White started in the circle for the Comets, and the sophomore right-hander pitched a scoreless second inning before being touched for four runs on four hits in the third inning as the visitors assumed a 6-2 lead. The Palomar offense got White off the hook by scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning, the big hit being a two-run home run to left by Doepping, which was the 14th homer of the season for the sophomore designated player.
Singles by Alvarez and Doepping started the fourth inning, and Smith provided a two-out, pinch-hit double to right which scored two runs for a 9-6 Palomar advantage.
Flaviani took over for White in the circle to start the fourth inning, and after allowing one run on two singles and a sacrifice fly, the sophomore right-hander blanked the Marauders on one hit the rest of the way.
Antelope Valley's fifth error of the game contributed to a three-run fifth inning for the Comets, with sophomore center fielder Gisele Gonzalez and freshman second baseman Kristina Deal each providing RBI singles. Nuanez walked to lead off the sixth, and singles by Huey, Alvarez and Doepping led to two runs before freshman pinch-hitter Emma Schneider ended the contest with a walk-off RBI single to left, scoring freshman pinch-runner Natalie Arendt with the final run required for the mercy-run rule to take effect.
Flaviani earned her 35th win of the season, finishing with one walk and three strikeouts in her three innings of work.
Alvarez had four hits, giving the freshman third baseman seven hits in the series. Doepping added three hits while driving in three runs, and Huey and Gonzalez had two hits apiece as the Comets finished with 15 hits.
Antelope Valley, the No. 9 seed for the SoCal Regionals after winning the Western State Conference-South title, had its season come to an end with a 32-13 record as Palomar overcame eight home runs hit by the Marauders in the three-game series.
In other postseason news, the Palomar softball program continued to add to its individual awards when the 3C2A announced its All-State selections. Armstrong was named to the All-South Region team, and being named to the All-State South team were Dain, Deal, Doepping, Flaviani and Huey, who was chosen the South Player of the Year.
Head coach Lacey Craft repeated as the South's Coach of the Year.
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association also selected its All-America team for the South Region, and four Palomar players were named All-Americans for the 2026 season, including Huey, Flaviani, Doepping and Gonzalez.