SAN MARCOS – No. 2 Palomar Softball clinched its 11th straight conference title with an unbeaten 14-0 record.
This is the team’s 11th straight championship title, barring the 2020-2021 hiatus due to COVID-19, in which no title was awarded.
Palomar took on the SD City Knights on April 17 and proved why they deserve to be called conference champs. The game ended with a thunderous blast over the left-field fence, but it began with hushed concern within the pitcher’s circle.
Comets’ pitching ace, Maddie Bedolla, started the game for the 19th time this season. But after just one pitch, she was forced to leave the game, bewildering the players and fans alike before Nevaeh Haywood replaced the departed Bedolla.
With 15 starts of her own and a 13-2 record, Haywood was the prime candidate to take over in a moment filled with worry over her teammate’s well-being.
“So, she was supposed to start, and I didn’t know what happened there. I was, I was kind of thrown for a loop,” Haywood said.
After the game, the status of Bedolla was still unclear, but Head Coach Lacey Craft is confident the star pitcher will make a comeback following her sudden removal.
“She is kind of working through a little bit of fatigue at this point in the season, hopefully she’ll be ready to go Saturday,” Craft said.
Without much time to prepare, Haywood surrendered two runs in the first inning. But this would be the only lead of the day for the Knights as the Comets scored three first-inning runs of their own, initiated by a home run from third baseman Breanna Lutz that careened into the right-field foul pole.
“That felt great, it was literally electric,” Haywood said. “Bree just crushed it, doing what she does, and we definitely needed that.”
Haywood only gave up one more run on the day, but the visitors threatened to score throughout the matchup. Haywood showed resolve in those moments, like her inning-ending strikeout of SD City’s Karah Barajas with the bases loaded.
“I kind of thrive in those stressful situations. It was kind of fun,” Haywood said.
The Comets led 6-3 in the fifth inning, which quickly turned to an 8-3 lead after a wild pitch and a throwing error by SD City catcher Shyann Beddow allowed Dominique Garcia and Kayla Visser to score.
SD City pitcher Lexi Lopez was one out away from advancing the game when Alexis Huey stepped into the batter’s box. Huey was already 2-2 on the day, with two RBIs and a run scored.
Lopez made a grave mistake by not walking Huey. With a 3-1 count and two runners on base, Huey crushed a home run to left field. The Comets’ dugout was in an uproar as they ran to home plate to ambush Huey as she rounded third following her first ever walk-off home run.
“It was really fun. It was so great to see them all just waiting for me at home plate so we can all celebrate,” Huey said.
Palomar softball has no plans to slow down its dominant gameplay, even after securing its eleventh-straight conference championship. With only one more conference game remaining this season, Coach Craft wants her team in top form for the upcoming postseason.
“We’re going to be continuing with our same game plan and try to finish the season strong,” Craft said. “Hopefully, we get some good momentum going into the playoffs.”
Palomar remains the number two-ranked team in the state. They boast an undefeated 14-0 record in conference play this season with an overall record of 33-3.
The final conference game of the season will be played Tuesday, April 22 at Palomar College against Grossmont. Before that they will host a double-header against College of the Canyons in a non-conference matchup this Saturday, April 19.
To follow Comets softball as they near the postseason visit the team’s webpage.
