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Schedule, Results, Boxes | 2008 Stats | 2008 PCC Stats | 2008 Roster | 2008 Coaches

All-Time Hitting | All-Time Pitching | Comets to 4-Yr. Colleges | Comets to Pros

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2008 News ...

ABOVE: Guy Willeford follows through on Tuesday against Santa Barbara City College. BELOW RIGHT: Matt Strom delivers pitch. -- (Photos by Hugh Gerhardt)

Strom (4-hitter, 10 strikeouts) throws shutout as

Comets top Santa Barbara 3-0 in playoff opener

(5/6/08) 

Freshman left-hander Matt Strom pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout on Tuesday as Palomar downed Santa Barbara City College 3-0 at Myers Field to begin the Southern California Community College baseball regionals.

Strom, who pitched out of the bullpen until late March, struck out 10 and walked none as he lowered his earned run average to 0.91 with 41 strikeouts and only seven walks over 39 2/3 innings.

Along the way, he became the first Palomar pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Nick Vincent, now at Long Beach State, beat Rio Hondo 1-0 in a Southern Cal regional game on May 13, 2006.

Mitch Blackburn (3-for-4, RBI) and Eric Rodriguez (3-for-4, stolen base) led the way offensively as Palomar moved on to a best-of-three series against Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo this weekend. The Comets and Cougars will play the first game Friday at 2 p.m., with the second game at 11 a.m. Saturday and a third game, if necessary, to follow.

Jake Onorato broke up a scoreless pitching duel between Strom and 6-foot-6 Vaqueros right-hander Blake McFarland with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly that scored Blackburn, who was aboard on a single.

Jason Laws, the next batter, singled to drive in Guy Willeford, also aboard on a single, with the second Palomar run. Blackburn singled in the Comets' third run in the seventh inning, driving in Rodriguez. Rodriguez had singled, stolen second and advanced to third on Tyler Saladino's second sacrifice  bunt of the game.

Onorato, playing right field, went to the top of the bank in the first inning to catch a long fly ball by Aaron Bauman and rob him of an extra-base hit. Rodriguez made two outstanding catches, going up the bank in straight-away center to take an extra- base hit away from Andrew Leighty in the third inning and making a diving catch coming in on Brendan Pichettoe's blooper in the ninth.

"I don't worry about (the other team's) hitting the ball with our defense," Strom said.

Onorato singled for the Comets' other hit, rounding out an eight-hit attack off three Santa Barbara pitchers.

Palomar advanced to 26-19.

BOX | SEASON STATS

Five Palomar players make all-conference team

(5/7/08) 

Five Palomar players made the All-Pacific Coast Conference baseball team selected Wednesday by conference coaches.

Named to the first team: sophomore second baseman Mitch Blackburn (left), freshman shortstop Tyler Saladino, sophomore center fielder Eric Rodriguez, sophomore first baseman Guy Willeford and sophomore relief pitcher Kegan Sharp.

Comets receiving honorable mention were freshman pitchers Bobby Shore, Matt Strom and Sam Jew, sophomore catcher Jason Laws and sophomore third baseman Colby Ho.


ABOVE: Anthony Renteria bangs the ball in Thursday's victory over Imperial Valley. BELOW RIGHT: Eric Rodriguez singleds. -- (Photos by Rick Rowell) ORDER  PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Playoffs next up for Palomar after Jew defeats

Arabs 4-1 with 8 strong innings, 7 strikeouts

(5/1/08) 

Sam Jew pitched eight innings of one-run, six-hit ball Thursday as Palomar closed the regular season with a 4-1 victory over Imperial Valley at Myers Field.

Jew (3-1) struck out seven and walked none as the Comets advanced to 25-19, 18-7 to finish alone in second in the Pacific Coast Conference entering the Southern California playoffs which begin next week.

Tyler Saladino (3-for-5, two doubles, one run scored) and Mitch Blackburn (3-for-3, one walk, two runs scored) paced a 10-hit attack for Palomar. Colby Ho reached base for the 20th and 21st time this season as a hit batter.

Jimmy Hoyt came on to pitch shutout ball in the ninth inning, picking up his first save.

Palomar will either be in the play-in game on Tuesday or will open the postseason with a first-round best-of-three series next weekend (May 9-10). The seeding meeting for the Southern Cal playoffs is slated for Sunday.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Comets slug four home runs and Jenkins

goes 7 innings without earned run in 13-2 win

(4/29/08) 

Winning pitcher Andrew Jenkins (left) didn't allow an earned run in seven innings and Palomar slugged four home runs in a 13-2 victory at Imperial Valley on Tuesday in the Comets' next-to-last game of the regular season.

Colby Ho (3-for-4, HR, two doubles, RBI, three runs scored, two walks) and Jason Laws (right, 3-for-6, RBI, double) paced a 17-hit attack as Palomar advanced to 24-19, 17-7 in the Pacific Coast Conference) with one game left in the regular season.

Ho and Kellen Lee both homered in the seventh inning. Ho's solo HR was his third of the season. Lee's three-run blast was his second. Mitch Blackburn and Anthony Renteria hit solo shots in the top of the ninth, No. 2 for Blackburn, No. 5 for Renteria.

Eric Rodriguez and Guy Willeford each added two hits. Tyler Saladino and Reece Alnas had triples.

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PCC champion Jaguars overcome 3-1 deficit

in seventh inning to and turn back Palomar 9-5

(4/26/08) 

Second-place Palomar led the Pacific Coast Conference champions 3-1 on Saturday when starting pitcher Matt Strom, who was sailing along with a four-hitter, tired quickly in  the top of the seventh inning.

The Jaguars wound up scoring five runs in the inning off three Palomar pitchers, three of them unearned, and continued on to runa 9-5 victory that ran their record to 31-10, 21-2 in conference in the Comets' last home Saturday game of the season.

Mitch Blackburn (left) went 3-for-4, doubled and drove in a run for the Comets (23-19, 16-7).

Eric Rodriguez, Palomar's leading hitter on the season, was 1-for-2 with a double, was hit by a pitch, walked, was hit by a pitch and scored three runs. Reece Alnas went 1-for-2 with two sacrifice  bunts and two runs scored.

The Comets' RBIs came on Blackburn's second-inning single, Tyler Saladino's squeeze bunt in the fifth inning and Guy Willeford's seventh-inning single.

Palomar's relief pitchers walked five batters.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Jew, and Sharp (record seventh save) pitch

Comets to 3-1 win over PCC champion Jaguars

(4/24/08) 

Palomar went on the road and stunned Pacific Coast Conference champion Southwestern 3-1 on Thursday, beating conference pitching leader Daniel Stenavich.

The Comets' Sam Jew (left, 2-1) won a pitchers' duel from Stenavich, who came into the game with a 7-1 record and ERAs of 1.64 (overall) and 1.45 (conference).

Jew, a freshman right-hander from Kalamunda, Perth, Australia, stopped the Jaguars (30-10, 20-2) on eight hits and one run over the first eighth innings.

Sophomore right-hander Kegan Sharp pitched the ninth for save No. 7, moving to second on the all-time Palomar single-season list. The save also was Sharp's seventh in conference play, breaking the Palomar record of six that he had tied against Grossmont on April 19.

Jerry Stafford, who went on to pitch for San Diego State and in the Florida Marlins organization, had set the old mark in 1990. Chris Adams, who later pitched for the University of New Mexico, first tied it a year later.

After a lead-off walk, Sharp retired the final three Southwestern batters on a strikeout looking and two ground balls.

The Comets, trailing 1-0, scored three runs in the top of the sixth on Eric Rodriguez' triple to right field, Mitch Blackburn's sacrifice fly to center, Guy Willeford's fifth home run of the season over the rightfield fence and a Southwestern error. Willeford and Anthony Renteria each went 2-for-4. Rodriguez went 2-for-5.

Mitch Ferguson, normally a relief pitcher, and Jason Laws, the Comets'  regular catcher, both made their first appearances of the season as infielders.

Ferguson played the whole game at second base and had the Comets' first hit of the game off Stenavich, an opposite-field single with two out in the third inning. Ferguson had two putouts and seven assists. He made a diving stop to throw out Southwestern clean-up hitter Edgar Molina in the third inning and turned a line drive by Taylor Comford into a fourth-inning double play -- throwing to first to double off the Jaguars' Ryan Feriss. Laws played the entire game at third and had a putout and three assists.

The Comets (23-18, 16-6) locked up undisputed second place with the victory. The two teams will play again on Saturday at noon at Myers Field.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Tyler Saladino slides in safely for Comets in Tuesday's game with Grossmont. (Photo by Hugh Gerhardt)

Saladino remains hot by going 3-for-4 with a

home run and double but Palomar tumbles

(4/22/08) 

Tyler Saladino went 3-for-4, slugged his fourth home run, doubled and reached base as a hit batter on Tuesday, but second-place Palomar dropped a 5-2 Pacific Coast Conference decision to third-place Grossmont at Myers Field.

The Comets had only two runs to show for 12 hits as they dropped to 22-18 on the season, 15-6 in conference going into a two-game series with newly-crowned PCC champion Southwestern on Thursday at Southwestern and Saturday at home.

Palomar leads Grossmont by four games with four to play, so the Comets' "magic number" remains at one -- one Palomar victory or one Grossmont loss -- to clinch second place outright. The Comets have already wrapped up the conference's No. 2 playoff berth by winning their season series from Grossmont four games to one.

Kellen Lee went 2-for-4 with a double and a single for Palomar. The Comets, trailing 5-0, scored their first run in the eighth inning on a walk to Colby Ho, pinch-hitter Jake Onorato's fielder's choice and pinch-hitter Reece Alnas' RBI single to up the middle. Saladino's solo homer over the rightfield fence to lead off the bottom of the ninth made the final score 5-2.

The Comets got effective relief pitching from Tyler Hamilton (2 2/3 innings, two hits, one run), Andrew Jenkins (1 2/3 innings, 0 runs) and Jimmy Hoyt (one inning, no hits, no runs).

Eric Rodriguez went up the bank in center field to make two spectacular catches against the fence for Palomar.

Over Palomar's last three games -- victories over San Diego Mesa and Grossmont and Tuesday's loss to the Griffins -- Saladino is 6-for-9 with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, five runs scored, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Strom (seven innings, three hits, no runs)

sets stage as Comets beat Grossmont on road

(4/19/08) 

Matt Strom (left), Palomar's most effective relief pitcher, finally got a start on Saturday. You can bet the farm it will not be his last.

The freshman left-hander, working ahead of almost every hitter he faced, pitched seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball, striking out five and walking none, in an 11-6 Pacific Coast Conference victory over host Grossmont. He threw 87 pitches

The Griffins, battling back from an 8-0 deficit after Strom left the game, scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull to within two runs at 8-6. But freshman shortstop Tyler Saladino (right) slugged a three-run home run over the rightfield fence in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Palomar had stretched a 4-0 lead to 8-0 in the top of the eighth, when Guy Willeford slugged a three-run home run to right. Mitch Blackburn preceded Willeford's HR with an RBI single earlier in the inning. Willeford had four RBIs for the day.

Kegan Sharp came on to get the Comets out of the eighth inning, tacked on a scoreless ninth and notched his sixth save.

Strom, pitching this season for the first time since he threw two no-hitters for Temecula Valley High School in 2003, now has an ERA of 0.73 on the season, with 26 strikeouts and six walks in 24 2/3 innings. In conference, he's 1-1 with an ERA of 0.50, and 17 strikeouts and four walks in 16 innings.

His previous 13 appearances had all been in relief.

The second-place Comets (22-17, 15-5) now lead the third-place Griffins (17-18, 10-10) by five games with five to play.

BOX | SEASON STATS


TOP PHOTO: Reece Alnas (No. 1) receives congratulations from first-base coach Rich Graves after his pinch-hit single in the bottom of the eighth. BELOW: Colby Ho gets down suicide squeeze bunt to score Mitch Blackburn, also in the eighth. (Photos by Hugh Gerhardt)

Saladino's 3-run double in 8th defeats Mesa;

Jew gets win with 5 1/3 scoreless relief innings

(4/17/08) 

Tyler Saladino's bases-loaded double in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Palomar to a come-from-behind, 8-4 Pacific Coast Conference baseball win over San Diego Mesa on Thursday at Myers Field.

The Comets, who trailed early 4-0, scored five times in the inning to give freshman right-handed Australian Sam Jew (left), who threw 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball, the pitching win in relief.

With Palomar down 4-3, Jason Laws led off the inning with a single to left and pinch-runner beat the throw to second on Matt Frankfurth's sacrifice fielder's choice. Eric Rodriguez singled on a picture-perfect bunt just inside the third-base line, when Mesa pitcher Blake Gallacher had no chance to throw out Rodriguez and had to eat the ball.

Saladino followed with his three-run double, giving the Comets a 6-4 lead. Saladino scored when Mitch Blackburn was safe at second on a sacrifice bunt an an error. Guy Willeford bunted Blackburn to third, he came home on Colby Ho's suicide squeeze bunt.

Kegan Sharp then came on to shut out the Olympians in the top of  the ninth.

Saladino went 2-for-3 with the double, a walk, two runs scored, three RBIs and a stolen base. He also was hit by a pitch.

Palomar advances to 14-5 in conference, 21-17 on the season, and solidified its hold on second place when Grossmont lost to San Diego City College in extra  innings.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Shore's 7-inning, 7-strikeout, 1-earned run

performance goes for naught in a 4-3 defeat

(4/15/08) 

Freshman right-hander Bobby Shore (left) pitched four-hit ball over seven innings, surrendering one earned run and leaving the game with a 3-2 lead.

But Shore, who struck out seven and walked two, wound up with a non-decision to show for his efforts as the visiting Comets couldn't hold on against the Olympians.

Anthony Renteria (right) went 2-for-3 for the Comets with a double. Mitch Blackburn was 2-for-5. Colby Ho contributed a one-run double and Shawn Sanford and Eric Rodriguez had RBI singles.

Palomar fell to 20-17 on the season, 13-5 in th Pacific Coast Conference.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Onorato's two-run double in ninth inning leaves

San Diego City College standing in 10-9 win

(4/10/08) 

Jake Onorato's (left) two-run double on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday drove in the tying and winning runs and gave Palomar a wild 10-9 victory over San Diego City College at Myers Field.

The Knights, taking advantage of seven Palomar errors in possibly the most sloppy game the Comets have played all season, rallied from an 8-2 deficit to take a 9-8 lead in the top of the eighth,.

Guy Willeford then led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing a walk.

Jared Jones bunted pinch-runner Reece Alnas to second and Anthony Renteria (right), working City College reliever Matt Veltmann deep into the count, was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second.

That brought up Onorato, who hit a towering drive into the right-centerfield gap to score Alnas and Renteria and win the game.

Renteria hit a long, high two-run home run over the rightfield fence in the fifth inning for the Comets (20-16, 13-4 Pacific Coast Conference). On the day, he also had a sacrifice bunt and scored three runs.

Eric Rodriguez (2-for-4, double) and Mitch Blackburn (2-for-3, RBI) had multiple-hit games.

Kegan Sharp, the fifth Palomar pitcher of the afternoon, came on with two outs in the eighth inning and picked up the victory after Palomar's ninth-inning rally.

Palomar starter Joe Cates got shaky defensive support as he pitched five-hit ball over the first six innings and allowed two runs, both unearned. He left the game with an 8-2 lead that the Knights (14-15, 6-11) erased with a six-run eighth inning.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Shore, Strom and Sharp combine to pitch

Comets to 6-2 win vs. San Diego City College

(4/8/08) 

Bobby Shore (left, 4-1), Matt Strom (right) and Kegan Sharp combined to throw a seven-hitter at San Diego City College as Palomar won 6-2 on Tuesday at Morley Field in San Diego.

Shore pitched five-hit ball over 5 2/3 innings. Strom gave up only a bloop hit down he rightfield line, shutting out the Knights over 2 1/3 innings. Sharp came on to pitch the ninth, giving up a leadoff single and then getting three straight outs, two on strikeouts.

Mitch Blackburn paced a 10-hit attack for the Comets (19-16, 12-4 Pacific Coast Conference) by going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a bunt single. Tyler Saladino (2-for-5, double, two RBIs), Jason Laws (2-for-4, RBI) and Eric Rodriguez (2-for-3, double) also had multiple hits.

The second-place Comets trail first-place Southwestern, which fell behind 9-1 but came back to beat San Diego Mesa 10-9, by three games with nine to play.

The Knights are 14-14, 6-10.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Willeford (4-4), Renteria (home run, 4 RBIs)

lead the way in 14-2 victory over Imperial Valley

(4/5/08) 

Guy Willeford (left) went 4-for-4, doubled, was hit by a pitch, scored a run and drove in three Saturday as Palomar clubbed Imperial Valley 14-2 at Myers Field.

In his last eight at-bats, the sophomore first baseman from Ramona High School has gone 8-for-8. He has 19 hits in his last 28 at-bats with a home run, four doubles, eight RBIs and a .929 slugging percentage during that span.

Willeford becomes the first Palomar player to hit safely in eight straight at-bats since Kyle Floquet (who later played at San Diego State) in 2001.

Winning pitcher Andrew Jenkins (1-1), Matt Ferreira, Matt Strom and Austin Haynal combined on a five-hitter -- and they had plenty of support to go along with Willeford's performance.

Anthony Renteria (above right) went 2-for-4 with his third home run, a two-run shot over the right-field fence in the fifth inning, and drove in four runs.

Jason Laws was 2-for-3 with a double, a sacrifice fly, a walk, two runs scored and three RBIs. Tyler Saladino went 2-for-3 with two doubles, a sacrifice fly, three runs scored a stolen base and an RBI. Eric Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, and RBI and two steals.

Jenkins pitched five shutout innings to begin the game. He surrendered two runs in the sixth and wound up allowing five hits while striking out five and walking none. Ferreira, Strom and Haynal each threw a shutout inning. Strom, who has an 0.60 ERA for the season (0.00 in conference) struck out two.

Palomar advanced to 18-16 on the season, 11-4 in the conference and remain in second place.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Hoyt, Ferguson pitch Comets past Arabs;

Willeford still on fire, hitting .615 last 26 AB's

(4/3/08) 

Jimmy Hoyt (2-2) pitched seven-hit ball over seven innings, retiring the last 13 batters he faced, and Mitch Ferguson (left) came in to throw two perfect innings with three strikeouts as Palomar downed host Imperial Valley 7-2 in baseball Thursday.

Kellen Lee and Guy Willeford (right) came up big at the plate for Palomar (17-16 overall, 10-4 in conference). Lee went 2-for-4 with a triple, double and four RBIs. Willeford was 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs and is 16-for-27 for his last seven games.

Tyler Saladino (2-for-5, double) and Mitch Blackburn (2-for-4, stolen base) and had multiple-hit performance for Palomar.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Palomar catcher Kellen Lee unsuccessfully tries to stop . -- (Photo by Hugh Gerhardt)

Comets find backs to the wall in PCC race

after dropping 7-2 decision to Southwestern

(4/1/08) 

Second-place Palomar finds itself with its collective backs to the wall in the race for the Pacific Coast Conference championship after falling to first-place Southwestern 7-2 on Tuesday at Myers Field.

With Southwestern (12-1) clinching the conference's top-seed tie-breaker by taking a 3-0 lead in the teams' five-game series, the 9-4 Comets have to make up four games on the Jaguars with just 12 to play or their season is very likely over.

The Comets fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first before Bobby Shore came on in relief to begin the second and pitched four-hit, one-run ball over six innings.

Palomar closed a 4-0 deficit to 4-2 but that was as sloce as the Comets could get.

Colby Ho paced an eight-hit attack for Palomar as he went 2-for-5 and drove in both Palomar's runs with a seventh-inning double. Guy Willeford was 2-for-4.

Second baseman Mitch Blackburn made a diving stop of Kenneth Miramontes' ground ball in the top of the seventh and threw him out at first, robbing k him of a hit and saving a run.

The Jaguars move to 21-8 overall. The Comets fall to 16-16.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Saladino's game-winning hit, Rodriguez' catch,

Onorato's HR, Sharp's 5th save lift Comets 9-8

(3/27/08) 

Palomar ran its winning streak to four games on Thursday and set up a showdown for the Pacific Coast Conference lead with Southwestern in the process.

The Comets defeated host Grossmont 9-8 on Tyler Saladino's (left) check-swing, two-run single to left field with two out in the ninth inning. They pulled to within a game of first-place Southwestern entering a two-game series with the Jaguars.

Kegan Sharp came on in the ninth inning to notch his fifth save, giving Jack Davidson the pitching win, and a leaping Eric Rodriguez reached over the centerfield fence in the second inning to rob the Griffins' Sequoyah Stonecipher of a two-run home run.

Saladino went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, a run scored and three RBIs for the Comets. Jake Onorato (right) went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run to left field in the sixth inning and a stolen base.

Davidson, the fifth of six Palomar pitchers, went one-third of an inning to even his win-loss record at 2-2. Shawn Sanford also was effective in relief, giving up one hit in 2 1/3 innings.

The Comets trailed 7-6 entering the top of the ninth.

Rodriguez, who had doubled and scored the game's first run on Jarend Jones' sacrifice fly in the first, got the inning started by being hit by a pitch by losing pitcher Robert Stevens.

Mitch Blackburn moved Rodriguez to second with his 11th sacrifice bunt of the season. Jones walked and Reece Alnas came in to run for him. Guy Willeford moved the runners to second and third with a groundball to the right side, setting the stage for Saladino's game-winner.

Sharp entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and recorded his second save in three days by pitching a no-hit, scoreless inning.

Stonecipher and Travis Taijeron both homered for Grossmont. The Comets advanced to 16-14, 9-2 in conference while the Griffs are 13-13, 6-5.

BOX | SEASON STATS

Cates' performance goes for naught in 10-inning heartbreaker

(3/27/08) 

Visiting Palomar wasted an outstanding pitching performance from starter Joe Cates (left) on Saturday as the Comets dropped a 3-2 showdown against Southwestern for the Pacific Coast Conference lead.

Cates allowed one run on three hits over six innings before leaving the game with a 2-1 lead.

Guy Willeford went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Comets (16-15, 9-3). Eric Rodriguez was 2-for-5. Jarend Jones and Matt Frankfurth added doubles.

The Jaguars lead the second-place Comets by two games with 13 conference games left.

Palomar will try to close back to within in game of the conference lead when the two teams meet again at Myers Field at 2 p.m.

BOX | SEASON STATS | CONFERENCE STATS


TOP: Guy Willeford scores on  Jason Laws' single in the bottom of the first s Grossmont catcher Travis Taijeron retrieves throw from left field. (Photo by Hugh Cox). BELOW LEFT: Cameron Aspaas, who ran his conference win-loss record to 4-0, delivers pitch. (Photo by Rick Rowell) ORDER  PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Comets down Griffins 7-5, move to one game

of PCC lead after City stuns Southwestern

(3/25/08) 

Second-place Palomar moved to within one game of the Pacific Coast Conference baseball lead on Tuesday at Myers Field

The Comets defeated third-place Grossmont 7-5 while San Diego City College upset first-place Southwestern 15-7.

For Palomar, Guy Willeford went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Mitch Blackburn was 3-for-5 with an RBI. The Comets (15-14, 8-2) are two games ahead of the Griffins (13-12, 7-4).

Palomar jumped out to a 4-1 lead on six first-inning hits and led the whole way. Jason Laws singled and drove in two runs.

Cameron Aspaas pitched the first six innings to extend his win-loss record to 4-2 on the season, 4-0 in the conference. Matt Strom, who threw 2 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run, and Kegan Sharp, who came in to get the last two outs, also pitched effectively. Sharp recorded his fourth save.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Comets avenge loss to San Bernardino Valley

as they pound Glendale tourney champs 13-5

(3/21/08) 

Palomar avenged an early-season non-conference loss Friday as the Comets traveled to Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino and knocked off San Bernardino Valley 13-5.

The Wolverines won the Glendale Tournament earlier in the week, going undefeated.

Tyler Saladino (left, 4-for-4, double, three RBIs, walk, four steals) and Jarend Jones (right, 3-for-6, two doubles, three RBIs) paced a 15-hit attack for the Comets.

Guy Willeford went 2-for-3 with his third home run of the season, a two-run shot over the leftfield fence in the third inning. Brian Joyce was 2-for-3 with a double.

Freshman right-hander Mitch Ferguson was the most effective of five Palomar pitchers who combined on a six-hitter. He came on with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning and  got the Comets out of the inning without a run as he retired San Bernardino's No. 5 and No. 6 hitters on a pop-up and strikeout.

Ferguson struck out three batters in 1 2/3 innings.

The Comets, leading 3-2, scored four runs in the fifth inning and blew the game wide open with five runs in the top of the seventh.

Palomar is 14-14 while San Bernardino fell to 14-11.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Eric Rodriguez gets down sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning in 10-4 win over San Joaquin Delta. -- Photo by Hugh Gerhardt

Palomar gets back on track, shells Delta 10-4

to conclude Comet-Olympian Easter Series

Mitch Blackburn (left) went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, Anthony Renteria slugged his second home run in three days and Palomar broke out of its recent funk Thursday at Myers Field.

The Comets, visitors on their own field, pounded out 13 hits and clubbed San Joaquin Delta from Stockton 10-4.

Palomar jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the third after Tyler Saladino and Eric Rodriguez beat out consecutive bunts to the left side of the infield to begin the inning. Blackburn, Colby Ho and Jason Laws also singled as the Comets sent nine batters to the plate.

The Comets added two runs in the fourth inning and tacked on a run in the top of the ninth on Renteria's towering home run over the right-center field fence.

Guy Willeford (2-for-5, two RBIs), Saladino (2-for-4, three runs scored) and Ho (2-for-4) also had multiple-hit performances,

Freshman right-hander Bobby Shore advanced to 3-1 on the season as he pitched 5 1/3 innings of five-hit ball. Freshman left-hander Shawn Sanford (2 2/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball) and Mitch Ferguson turned in strong relief efforts.

Ferguson got the Comets out of a ninth-inning jam when he came in with the bases loaded and one out and got the Mustangs' Alex Zunini to hit into a double play from Blackburn, who had moved from second to shortstop, to second baseman Nico Chesterton to Willeford at first.

Palomar will visit San Bernardino Valley Friday at 2 p.m. in a non-conference make-up game before returning to Pacific Coast Conference action on Tuesday at Grossmont.

BOX | SEASON STATS


Vincent closes vs. USC with 2 perfect innings;

Esquibel notches save for Kansas vs. Texas

(3/17/08) 

Ex-Palomar pitcher Nick Vincent  continued to dominate as Long Beach State's closer on Sunday.

Vincent (left)  closed out the game with two perfect innings in a 16-9 win over USC at Blair Field in Long Beach...

Vincent, who struck out three Trojans, still owns an ERA of 0.00 with a 3-0 record and a save for the Dirtbags (12-3).

Long Beach, which is ranked No. 7 in the nation by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, will play a three-games series against UCLA this upcoming weekend, then will host Harvard on Monday, March 24.

More Palomar baseball alumni news:

  • Andres Esquibel (right), who leads Kansas with an ERA of 0.82 for 22 innings, notched a save as the Jayhawks defeated No. 10-ranked Texas 7-2 on Sunday in Austin, TX. He threw three innings of scoreless, two-hit ball to close the game.

  • Jeff Ibarra is now 5-0 for Lee University of Tennessee, which is ranked third in the nation in the NAIA. He picked up the victory in relief Sunday in game 2 as the Flames swept a double-header from nationally seventh-ranked Southern Poly to run their win streak to 26 and advance to 29-1 on the season. Ibarra owns an ERA of 0.92 and has 22 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.

  • Jamestown College of North Dakota is off to a 10-4 start, has moved to No. 1 in Region 3 in the NAIA after a successful roadtrip to Florida. The Jimmies are expected to burst back into the national rankings for the first time since last season on Wednesday. Travis Goset -- who went on from Palomar to pitch for Kansas and then Jamestown -- is the Jimmies' pitching coach.

  • Head coach Matt Juliano will bring his University of Sioux Falls (South Dakota) team (also NAIA) to Southern California next Monday through Wednesday to play UC San Diego and Vanguard. Kyle Thompson, another ex-Comet, is an assistant coach for the Cougars, who are off to a 2-6 start. Ex-Comet James Borges is Sioux Falls' starting second baseman, while former Palomar red-shirt Cody Burgener is hitting .353.


Palomar falls in Easter Series despite strong

performances by starter Cates, reliever Strom

(3/19/08) 

Palomar got 5 1/3 strong innings from right-handed starting pitcher Joe Cates and three outstanding relief innings from freshman left-hander Matt Strom on Wednesday.

But it wasn't enough as Orange Coast broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth and went on to win 5-1 at Myers Field in the Comet-Olympian Easter Series.

Cates began the game by holding Coast to one run in 5 1/3 innings before Strom came on with runners at second and third and two out in the sixth and struck out the Pirates' No. 5 hitter.with runners at second and third in the sixth.

Strom, who left with the game with one out in the ninth and the score tied 1-1, struck out five and walked none. He was charged with his first run of the season in eight relief appearances, which scored after he came out, and was tagged with a hard-luck loss..

Mitch Blackburn doubled to lead off the fourth inning and gave the Comets a 1-0 lead on Jarend Jones' suicide squeeze bunt. Tyler Saladino and Jake Onerato also doubled for Palomar.

The Comets,will host San Joaquin Delta to conclude the Easter Classic on Thursday at 10 a.m.

Mt. San Jacinto 7, Palomar 4 -- The Comets wasted 3 2/3 strong relief innings from Andrew Jenkins and a 12-hit offensive performance at the plate in its first game of the day in the day.

Jenkins (above left, photo by Hugh Gerhardt), scattered three hits, surrendered one run and struck out three.

Colby Ho went 2-for-3 for Palomar with two doubles, the second on a sun ball, and an RBI. Anthony Renteria and Reece Alnas also had two hits apiece.

The Comets stranded 11 runners, eight in scoring