A respiratory illness that swept through Palomar College’s softball team did little to slow the Comets on their run to a state title.
Playing four games in four days while battling what head coach Lacey Craft described as a “run down” roster, Palomar on Sunday defeated Saddleback College 13-0 in the 3C2A softball state championship game to complete a dominant postseason sweep. The win capped a season in which the team set the record for highest winning percentage in program history.
Over the four-day run, the Comets overwhelmed Santa Rosa, San Joaquin Delta, San Mateo and Saddleback by a combined 54-5 margin, finishing the season 45-2 and capturing the sixth state softball title in program history.
Comets pitcher Kiara Flaviani was a standout again for Palomar in the title run, with two straight shutouts. (Photo by Hector Flores)The program’s most recent championship came in 2015. Craft—who has led Palomar since 2010—also guided the Comets to a state title in 2013.
“All week long, the team was battling sore throats, coughs, congestion, really not feeling 100%, but we did everything we could,” Craft said. “We always say it doesn’t really matter how you feel. We practice regardless of weather or conditions because we’re preparing to perform our best no matter what. That was kind of a classic case of it.”
The Comets’s season came full circle in the win over Saddleback, matching a 13-0 season-opening victory over the same opponent.
In the championship game, sophomore standout Kiara Flaviani delivered her secondconsecutive shutout in as many days, finishing the season 38-1, while slugger Alexis Hueypowered the offense with a two-run home run over the right-field fence in the second inning.
The blast—her 27th of the season—set both a new school record and a state record.
“Alexis has had the results all year consistently, and to not commit an error all year defensively too, the success on both sides of the ball is almost unheard of,” Craft said. “She’s just done a fantastic job.”
“Kiara just kept getting stronger as the season went on,” Craft continued. “She earned thatstarting role early and kept getting better and better throughout the year. I think she only gave up two earned runs in the entire tournament and had more strikeouts than she’d probably had in any four-game stretch this season. It was really satisfying to see her have that kind of success at the state tournament and finish with that culmination at the end.”
“I just tried to keep it simple,” Flaviani said postgame. “The offense got me some runs early, soit was nice to have that lead.”
Huey added that, “I’m not aiming to hit a home run every at bat, or even break records. I just kind of work for those line drives.”
Ava Alvarez, Lauren Doepping and Kristina Deal also homered in the championship victory.
“The group we had in the program this year, I can’t say enough about their work ethic andcompetitiveness,” Craft said. “Those are the things that really stand out to me. Every kid cameto practice with a great attitude, happy to be there and willing to meet the standard we set.They were coachable and committed, and that’s what made this season so special.”
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