SAN MARCOS — The first round of the SoCal Regional playoffs for Palomar softball and baseball will be played on home turf starting May 1.
The programs will enjoy home-field advantage thanks to their stellar records in 2026.
Comet softball went 32-1 this season, with its only loss coming back on Feb. 28 in a 2-1 defeat to Mt. San Jacinto College. Since then the team has been on a 25-game win streak and enters the postseason ranked first overall in the state.
Palomar’s opponent in the first round will be decided by a play-in match between College of the Canyons and Moorpark College. The Comets will face the winner in a best-of-three series at 2 p.m. on May 1 with games two and three (if necessary) scheduled for May 2 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
The baseball program had a similarly successful season, earning a seventh-place ranking in the state. Palomar dominated at home and on the road in 2026, amassing a 34-5 record.
The Comets’ opponents in the round one of the postseason are Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) and Mt. San Jacinto College.
The round will take place over the entire weekend with Palomar’s first game scheduled at 3 p.m. on May 1 against the loser of an 11 a.m. game between Mt. SAC and Mt. San Jacinto.
This 3C2A bracket explains how the games on May 2-3 will be decided.
In addition to baseball and softball, Palomar College will also have athletes from track and field, beach volleyball and the swim team competing offsite.
From track and field, Kacey Tarlton will be competing in the pole vault, Lauren Gonzalez will participate in the 1500-meter dash and javelin throw and Morgan Fornof will represent the Comets in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin throwing events.
Track and field’s regional tournament will be held on May 2 at Bakersfield College.
In women’s beach volleyball, the duo of Emma Bambe and Reese Maffitt are heading to El Camino College on May 1 for the first round of the individuals tournament. Bambe and Maffitt will need to win two matches to advance to the championship round on May 2.
The Comet swim team is sending John Fritz and Tiana Timmons to compete in the state championships on April 30-May 2 at Orange Coast College.
Fritz will swim in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley (IM) events. Timmons is going the distance in the 200-yard backstroke, 400-yard IM and the longest swim of the championships, the 1650-yard freestyle, a 66-lap behemoth of a race.
Stay up to date with The Telescope to find out how all of these Comet athletes fare in the first week of the postseason.