Palomar Comets Baseball 2008

MITCH BLACKBURN

NO. 4 / INF, SO, 5-8, 175; BATS: Left; THROWS: Right

HOMETOWN: Temecula, CA

HIGH SCHOOL: Temecula Valley (Class of 2006)

PERSONAL: Born Dec. 21, 1987, in Anaheim. ... Son of Mark and Anne Blackburn. ... Has two brothers, Mark (23) and Matt (16), and one sister, Jenese (14).

2008 SEASON: Batting .331 with eight doubles, three triples, a home run and 19 RBIs as of April 18 as the Comets' regular second baseman. ... Also has been outstanding in spot play at shortstop, the position he played in high school, and third base, where he was an All-Pacific Coast Conference selection last season as a freshman. ... Batting .329 in conference games. ... Normally bats second in the order, but also has both led off and batted in the No. 3 hole. ... Has been aboard 20 times on walks, second on the club, and eight times as a hit batter. ... Leads the team with 15 successful sacrifice bunts and has been particularly dangerous in suicide squeeze situations. ... Has five stolen bases in six attempts. ... Went 2-for-4 in an 8-4 victory over Chaffey on Feb. 2. ... Slugged a home run over the rightfield fence at Myers Field as he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs against San Bernardino Valley on Feb. 8. ...Was 2-for-4, doubled and drove in a run against Mt. San Jacinto on Feb. 14. ... Went 2-for-5 in a 9-4 win at Mt. SAC on Feb.15. ... Was 2-for-5 with an RBI against Orange Coast on Feb. 19. ... Went 2-for-4 in a 5-2 win over San Diego Mesa on Feb. 26 .... Helped lead the Comets to a 15-6 win over San Diego City College on the road on Feb.27 by going 2-for-4, tripling, driving in two runs and scoring three. Also walked twice and was on base four times in the game. ...Tripled in a 7-4 win over San Diego City on March 6. ...Was 2-for-4 in a 4-2 win over the Knights on March 8. ... Had a two-run double to help ignite a 13-4 road win against Mesa on March 11. ... Went 3-for-5 and doubled twice, driving din three runs and scoring three, as the Comets beat San Joaquin Delta 10-4 on March 20. ... Went 3-for-5 with an RBI in a 7-5 victory over Grossmont on March 25. ... Was 2-for-4 and stole a base in a 7-2 victory at Imperial Valley on April 3. ... Singled to drive in a run in the Comets' four-run eighth inning on April 19. Also reached base twice as a hit batter in a game Palomar eventually won 11-6 to stay alive in the conference race and clinch at least a tie for second place.

2007 SEASON: Was a first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference selection as a true freshman as the Comets' primary starter at third base. ... Hit .339 for Pacific Coast Conference games. ... Batted .286 on the season with eight doubles (third on the team). ... Wecond on the club with 20 walks and reached base seven times as a hit batter. ... Had a .432 on-base percentage and was third on the team with Nine sacrifice bunts. ... Singled to drive in a run and also walked twice in an 18-10 victory at Mt. San Jacinto on Feb. 6. ... Drove in two runs with a double and also had a sacrifice and a walk against nationally No. 2-ranked Riverside Community College on Feb. 9. ... Lined a single to left field with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning to break up Orange Coast's Ryan Shopshire's no-hitter on Feb. 22. ...Went 2-for-2, walked twice, was hit by a pitch, got down a sacrifice bunt and drove in a run as the Comets beat Southwestern 11-6 in 12 innings on March 8. ... Was 2-for-4 with three RBIs in an 8-3 win over the Jaguars on March 10. ... His two-run double into the right-field corner in the eighth inning broke open a close game as the Comets beat Grossmont  9-5 on the road on March 13. ... Went 3-for-4 with an RBI on the road against San Diego City College on March 29. ... Was 2-for-4 and doubled in a run as the Comets beat the Knights 9-2 on March 31. ... Went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in an 11-3 win at Imperial Valley on April 21. ... Was 2-for-3, tripled and drove in three runs in a 6-0 victory at conference champion San Diego Mesa on April 26.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Batted .325 playing for coach David Barrett at Temecula Valley High School. ... Had a .400-plus on-base percentage for the Golden Bears. ... Was honored with team's Most Consistent Player award.

(Updated on April 20)