SAN MARCOS — The Comets made a statement, as they combined for 16 hits, and outscored Cerritos College 17-0 over the weekend.
Palomar came into this round two matchup on a 13-game win streak, hoping to extend that to send them to the State Championships. Cerritos came into the weekend 31-10 on the season with a four-game win streak.
The two teams met earlier in the season at the beginning of March, where the Comets won 18-0 with four home runs and 17 hits.
Game 1 – Palomar 9 Cerritos 0
Game one started slowly, but Palomar opened up with great defense. Left fielder Taylor Armstrong made an incredible diving catch to end the first inning.
“That was great, I trust Taylor all the time. Everything shallow, she has it; everything deep, she has it. She has great range and speed,” starting pitcher Nevaeh Haywood said.

In the top of the third, Cerritos had the bases loaded with one out, when the Comets turned an incredible inning-ending double-play to hold Cerritos scoreless.
“We were trying not to give them anything, so having bases loaded and getting out of that was a turning point for us,” first baseman Zoe Karam said.
Karam also had a big game, going 2-2 with three RBIs, which came off a three-run home run in the fourth inning to put the Comets up 9-0, her 12th home run of the year.
“It felt great, I haven’t been playing my best ball the last three games, so it felt good to come out and hit the ball hard,” Karam said.
Palomar took game one 9-0 and looked to sweep the series against Cerritos.
“Give them our best shot in the first game, and get it done in two and not go to take three,” said Head Coach Lacey Craft. “Give him my best lineup, and their gonna come out and give us their best shot too. Hopefully, we can have a good competitive game and get it done.”
Game 2 – Palomar 8 Cerritos 0
Palomar set the tone in the third inning of game two when Gisele Gonzalez and Breanna Lutz brought the energy the Comets needed, both hitting singles, extending the lead over Cerritos 1-0.
The offense peaked for the Comets in the fifth inning when Alexis Huey hit a two-run single, and the crowd went wild, cheering for the team’s success.

“I mean, I wasn’t trying to do too much, I was particularly happy with my last two at-bats, so I was trying to hit the ball in the middle, doing what I can for the team,” Huey said.
The atmosphere during the game was electric, and fans showed out in the heat to see Palomar secure a ticket to the state championships. Every hit, you could just hear the roar of the crowd cheering for the Comets, giving the team the motivation to continue succeeding.
Palomar’s offense was not finished as the women continued to attack Cerritos with the bats staying on fire. In the sixth inning, Josephine Heuberger hit a two-run triple, extending the Comets’ lead over Cerritos 5-0.
“Honestly, I knew that we were fighting to produce runs all game and even when we were up, I just knew that we needed to get those extra runs,” Heuberger said. “Giving ourselves that cushion, in the end, you never know what’s gonna happen, and that cushion will always be good, so I knew I had to be there for my team.”
Nevaeh Haywood pitched another breathtaking game only allowing six hits to Cerritos over seven innings.
In the seventh inning, Palomar emphasized how ready the women were to compete in the State Championships next week, and they did just that. Josephine Heuberger’s bat was on fire yet again, hitting a two-run single, extending the Comets’ lead over Cerritos 8-0. The Comets came back out to secure the victory over Cerritos with back-to-back groundouts, advancing to the State Championships.
“Honestly, my breathing has kept me most consistent, and like we put so much work in and I just work so hard that I just can trust my training and all I have to do is to breathe and stay calm,” Heuberger said.

Head Coach Lacey Craft mentioned that her approach to the game was to stay consistent offensively earlier in the game and set the tone against Cerritos.
“You know, I think we’re just gonna continue to do what we’ve been doing and play our kind of ball,” Craft said of the mindset heading into the State Championships. “We need to continue to pitch competitively and play great defense behind our pitchers, and you know our offense is tough to face, so we know we have that advantage.”
Craft is looking forward to seeing the hard work pay off and watching the athletes succeed on the field, in their pursuit of the State Championship title.
The Comets head to San Jose to play in the State Championships, where they will match up against the #2 seed, Cypress.