The state championship victory by the Palomar College softball team fulfilled a pledge many of the team members made after losing last year’s championship game.

The Comets won the state championship in a 13-0 victory over Saddleback College, a fitting end to the season that began with a 13-0 win over Saddleback. The victory wrapped up a 45-2 season under coach Lacey Craft.

This was the sixth state championship in program history and the first since the 2015 season. The state title was doubly sweet because Palomar College had lost the 2025 championship game to San Mateo College.

Craft said that after last year’s loss, team members came to her and asked how they could improve so they could win the championship this year.

“They were saying, ‘Tell me what to do to get into better shape.’ They set out to do the work to have a good experience this year,” Craft said.

Throughout the year, the returning players and the freshmen worked on physical conditioning, developing a camaraderie as they spent time together.

“It’s not just the softball part of things,” Craft said. “It’s the running, the weight room. It’s where we develop the team support that is necessary on the field.”

Palomar took an early lead in the game with back-to-back home runs in the first inning by Ana Alvarez and Lauren Doepping. Alexis Huey also homered against Saddleback, following a home run the day before in Palomar College’s 1-0 semifinal victory against San Mateo College. Huey, with three hits in the game, was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Huey, who had a .580 batting average and led the state in home runs, runs batted in and hits, was also named Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Sophomore pitcher Kiara Flaviani pitched her second complete game shutout in two days, capping a 38-1 season. She struck out seven Saddleback batters and was named the Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament.

“It was really nice to be able to achieve our goal that we had worked for all season,” Flaviani said. “It was really special.”

With the victory behind them, the 12 sophomores on the team graduated from Palomar College and will now scope out four-year universities to attend. Meanwhile, Craft is in the process of recruiting new players for the next academic year.

“We don’t know who will be here until we see the whites of their eyes,” she said.