BASEBALL / Signings

Kegan Sharp, whose seven saves in Pacific Coast Conference games broke the Palomar record, will pitch at San Diego State. Ten Comets are moving on to four-year college programs so far.-- (Photo by Rick Rowell) ORDER  PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Willeford and Sharp to SDSU;

Hamilton signs with St. John's

BASEBALL / Pro Alumni

Ex-Comets Nettles, Vincent

standing out in minor leagues

BOWIE, Md. and EUGENE, Ore. (6-29-08) -- Former Palomar baseball players Jeff Nettles and Nick Vincent both are performing well in minor league baseball.

Nettles (left), son of former All-Star third baseman Graig Nettles of the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres, is batting .274 with a .485 slugging percentage as of June 29 playing third for the Baltimore Orioles' Bowie (MD) Baysox farm club in the Class AA Eastern League.

The younger Nettles, who originally was drafted and signed by the Yankees out of Palomar, has 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 50 RBIs for the Baysox. On Saturday, he slugged a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning to give Bowie a lead it never relinquished in a 7-1 victory over Altoona.

Vincent (right), an 18th-round draft pick who was signed by the Padres earlier this month after his junior season at Long Beach State, is 0-0 with a save and an ERA of 0.00 as the closer for the Pads' Eugene (OR) Emeralds farm club in the Class A Northwest League.

Vincent has allowed no runs on two hits in five one-inning appearances for the Emeralds. He's struck out two batters and walked none.

The second-winningest pitcher in Palomar history with 20 victories through his sophomore season of 2007, Vincent has appeared in two games vs. Boise, two games against Spokane and one game vs. Vancouver.

Ex-Comets playing pro baseball, 2008 (as of July 2)

• Jeff Nettles, Bowie (AA), Baltimore Orioles

• Scott Robinson, Wisconsin (A), Seattle Mariners

• Nick Vincent, Eugene (A), San Diego Padres

• Marcus Hatley, Boise (A), Chicago Cubs

• Andres Esquibel, Peoria (R), Seattle Mariners

• Lyndon Poole, Ogden (R), Los Angeles Dodgers

• Clint Preisendorfer, Tampa (R), New York Yankees

• Gera Alvarez, Somerset, Independent

• Dylan Parzyk, Pensacola, Independent

• Joe Ramos, Kalamazoo, Independent

• Garry Templeton, Jr., Laredo, Independent

• Keith Noe, Brockton, Independent

• Shawn Balteff, Rockford, Independent

BASEBALL / Alaska Trip

Blackburn, Laws, Rodriguez,

Shore and Hamilton stand out

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (6-23-08) -- Palomar players Mitch Blackburn, Jason Laws, Eric Rodriguez, Bobby Shore (left) and Tyler Hamilton turned in strong performances for the Southern California Running Birds wood-bat team on a recent 10-game tour against Alaska Baseball League opponents.

Blackburn hit .304 for 23 at-bats with three doubles and eight RBIs. Laws batted .333 for 15 at-bats with two doubles and three RBIs. Rodriguez hit .278 for 18 at-bats with a home run, triple, two doubles and four RBIs.

Shore compiled a 2.13 ERA for 12 2/3 innings and was the starting pitcher against the Alaska Goldpanners in the 103rd Midnight Sun game in Fairbanks. One-time Goldpanner and ex-Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee was brought out of retirement to pitch for the Goldpanners.

Hamilton had a 1-1 pitching record with a 3.00 ERA for nine innings.

The Running Birds, made up primarily of current and former Palomar and Santa Ana College players, went 2-8 on the trip.

FOOTBALL / Signings

Keena Kuumba runs past Long Beach City College defender in 2007 game. -- (Photo by Rick Rowell) ORDER  PHOTOS (password: cometball)

TE Kuumba to Sac State as list

of Comets to 4-yr. level hits 20

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL / Signing

Jessica Parks becomes second

Palomar VB player to move on

SAN MARCOS (6-2-08) -- Middle blocker / opposite Jessica Parks has become to second Palomar volleyball player from the current recruiting class to move on to a four-year college program, accepting a scholarship to Notre Dame College, an NAIA school in Cleveland.

Parks, a second-team All-Pacific Coast Conference selection, averaged 2.23 kills per game last Fall as the Comets placed second.

Earlier, defender / Libero Sage Diessner signed with NCAA Division II Northwest Missouri State.

BASEBALL ALUMNI/ Honor, Signing

Ex-Comet Noe D-II All-American,

inks pact in  Independent ball

SAN DIEGO (6-20-08) -- Former Palomar pitcher Keith Noe has signed with the Brockton (Mass.) Rox of the Can-Am League of Independent pro baseball.

Noe set a UC San Diego school record with 14 saves as the Tritons' closer during the 2008 season and was named to the Rawlings-ACBA NCAA Division II All-America third team.

Noe was 4-1 with a 2.19 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 37 innings as a senior after transferring from Coastal Carolina.

FOOTBALL / 2008 Schedule

Kickoff times set for Comets:

5 day games, 5 evening games

SAN MARCOS (6-16-08) -- Remaining kickoff times have been finalized for Palomar's 2008 football season. Th 0'08 Comets, in their seventh season under coach Joe Early (right, photo by Rick Rowell), will play five games during the day and five in the evening.

Palomar will kick off the season on Saturday, Sept. 6, against Southwestern at Wilson Stadium in Escondido, the site of all the Comets' home games.

The Comets' bye date will be the last week of the regular season, on Nov. 15.

After playing in the now-defunct Mission Conference from 1969 through the 2007 season, Palomar will begin play in the new Southern California Football Alliance's Southern Division National Conference in the Fall.

• Sept. 6 vs. Southwestern, 6 p.m.

• Sept. 13 at Victor Valley, 1 p.m.

• Sept. 20 at San Diego Mesa, 6 p.m. (at Cathedral Catholic High School)

• Sept. 27 vs. College of the Desert, 6 p.m.

• Oct. 4 at Grossmont, 1 p.m.

• Oct. 11 vs. Saddleback, 1 p.m.

• Oct. 18 at Santa Ana, 7 p.m. (at Eddie West Field, Santa Ana Stadium)

• Oct. 25 vs. Long Beach City College, 1 p.m.

• Nov. 1 at Fullerton, 6 p.m. (at Fullerton High School)

• Nov. 8 vs. Orange Coast, 1 p.m.

BASEBALL / Pro Signings

Pads ink Vincent, assign former Comet to Eugene; 2 others sign

SAN DIEGO (6-16-08) -- 18th-round draft pick Nick Vincent, whose 20 career wins rank second on the all-time Palomar list, signed with the San Diego Padres on Sunday and flew to Oregon later in the day. Vincent will begin his pro baseball career with the Eugene Emeralds in the Class A Northwest League.

Vincent (left), a right-hander who prepped at Ramona High School, was 4-0 with two saves and a 1.76 ERA for Long Beach State during the 2008 season. He allowed 19 hits in 30 2/3 innings, striking out 33 and walking five.

Meanwhile, ex-Palomar  right-handed pitcher Andres Esquibel, drafted in the 38th round by Seattle out of the University of Kansas, has signed with the Mariners. He's been assigned to Peoria of the Rookie Classification Arizona League.

Former Comet left-handed pitcher Clint Preisendorfer of San Diego Christian College signed with the New York Yankees. He was drafted by the Yanks in the 42nd round. He has been assisgned to Tampa of the Rookie Classification Gulf Coast League.

Ex-Comets in pro baseball, 2008

• Jeff Nettles, Bowie (AA), Baltimore Orioles

• Scott Robinson, Wisconsin (A), Seattle Mariners

• Nick Vincent, Eugene (A), San Diego Padres

• Andres Esquibel, Peoria (R), Seattle Mariners

• Clint Preisendorfer, Tampa, New York Yankees

• Gera Alvarez, Somerset, Independent

• Dylan Parzyk, Pensacola, Independent

• Joe Ramos, Kalamazoo, Independent

• Garry Templeton, Jr., Laredo, Independent

• Keith Noe, Brockton, Independent

• Shawn Balteff, Rockford, Independent

CLICK HERE for John Maffei's North County Times article on the Padres drafting Nick Vincent in the 18th round

WOMEN'S SOCCER / Signings

Former Pacific Coast Conference Player of the Year Felicia Velte (above, controlling the ball, and left) will play at Cal State San Marcos.

Two Palomar players receive

scholarships to NAIA schools

SAN MARCOS (6-13-08) -- Palomar midfielder Felicia Velte, a two-time All-Pacific Coast Conference selection, and defender Kerry Sonnenburg both have accepted women's soccer scholarships to NAIA colleges.

Velte, a San Marcos High School product who was PCC Player of the Year as a freshman in 2006, will take the short hop across State Highway 78 to Cal State San Marcos to play for the Cougars.

Sonnenberg, out of Rancho Bernardo High School, will play at Southwestern College of Warfield, KS.

Velte contributed 43 goals and 18 assists for a school record 104 points in her two seasons for the Comets.

She scored 24 goals and recorded 12 assists for 60 points, ranking her fourth among California community college players, in 2006. Last Fall, Velte totaled 19 goals and six assists for 44 points as she was selected first-team all-conference for the second year in a row.

SOFTBALL / Coaching Change