Posted: Apr 18, 2026
Comets refuse to lose in sweep of Cougars
Palomar
(35-1, 14-0)
5
Canyons
(22-16, 8-3)
3
| Final (9) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palomar | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
|
Canyons | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
SANTA CLARITA, CA (4/18/2026) – The Palomar College softball team travelled north Saturday for its final weekend road trip of the regular season, taking on College of the Canyons in a nonconference doubleheader.
The two games produced vastly different results.
Two players reached milestones as Palomar won the first game in a whitewash, 11-0 in five innings. Sophomore pitcher Kiara Flaviani earned her 30th win of the season, and sophomore first baseman Alexis Huey slugged her 20th home run to extend her ongoing season school record.
The nightcap was much more tightly contested, as the Comets needed to rally for two runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 3-1 deficit before scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning for a 5-3 triumph.
The twinbill sweep boosted Palomar's record to 36-1 while extending the state's longest current win streak to 24 games. The No. 2-ranked team in the state has one game remaining on its regular-season ledger, a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference contest at San Diego City College on April 21.
Canyons fell to 22-17 with the two losses, which came after a three-game win streak.
Sophomore center fielder Gisele Gonzalez continued her hot hitting with a two-run triple to get the Comets quickly on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning of game 1. Gonzalez, who hit two home runs two days earlier in an 18-1 win over Imperial Valley, added a two-run double in the third inning against Canyons, when Palomar sent 11 batters to the plate while scoring eight runs.
The inning began with Huey's second walk of the game, and Huey capped the rally with her 20th home run of the season and her sixth in the month of April, a grand slam which scored Kristina Deal, Dominique Garcia and Nalia Nuanez for a 10-0 Palomar lead.
A one-out double by Deal in the fifth inning led to the Comets' final run, with Deal scoring on a single by Garcia.
Huey, Gonzalez and Deal all had two hits apiece for the Comets with Huey and Gonzalez each driving in four runs.
Flaviani shut out Canyons on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts to become the first pitcher in the state to reach 30 wins this season. A leadoff single in the first inning and a one-out single in the third were the Cougars' only hits against Flaviani, who retired the final seven batters she faced to preserve Palomar's eighth shutout of the season.
Flaviani got the call again to start game 2 in the circle, and she was touched for three first-inning runs on six hits as the hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Palomar got on the scoreboard in the top of the third when freshman catcher Delaney Smith walked, advanced to second on a bunt by Nuanez and scored when Kailey Dain's infield grounder to the left side was misplayed for an error.
While Flaviani kept the Cougars at bay after the first inning, the visitors rallied to tie the score in the seventh inning, which began with a pinch-hit single by freshman Emma Schneider. Another freshman, Tyler Krystek, entered the game as a pinch-runner, and she was bunted to second by Smith. One out after Nuanez was hit by a pitch, Dain hit an RBI single to score Krystek.
With the Comets still just one out away from their first loss since Feb. 28, freshman third baseman Ava Alvarez followed with another single to score freshman pinch-runner Natalie Arendt with the game-tying run.
Following a scoreless eighth inning, the Comets were extended to nine innings for the first time this season, breaking the tie in the top of the ninth with three straight hits after two outs. Dain beat out an infield single to shortstop and came around to score the go-ahead run on a double to center field by Alvarez.
Sophomore designated player Lauren Doepping provided an insurance run with an RBI single to score Alvarez, and Flaviani retired the Cougars in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure the sweep.
Dain and Alvarez each had two of Palomar's eight hits in the nightcap.
Flaviani finished strong again for another complete-game win in her longest outing of the season. The right-hander faced the minimum 21 batters over the final seven innings while improving her record to 31-1.
The only baserunner for the Cougars after the second inning reached on a leadoff single in the eighth inning, but she was thrown out by Garcia while attempting to steal second base as the sophomore catcher made the accurate throw to Deal covering for the first out of the inning.
Flaviani, who was scored upon in only one of the 14 innings she pitched on Saturday, became the second 30-game winner for Palomar in four seasons. India Caldwell posted a 30-3 record in 2023.
The Comets have already clinched their 12th consecutive conference crown going into their final PCAC contest at San Diego City. Postseason play begins May 1-2 for the 3C2A Southern California Regionals, with eight teams hosting best-of-3 series for the first round.
As one of the top-seeded teams in the South, Palomar will host the first game of its SoCal Regional series on May 1 at 2 p.m. Game 2 will be played May 2 at noon, with a deciding game to follow if necessary.
The Super Regionals will be held the following weekend, also in the best-of-3 format. The top four teams from the South and the top four from Northern California will advance to the double-elimination state championship tournament being held May 14-17 at Bakersfield College.