The Palomar Comets baseball team picked up their first win of the season on Jan. 30 against the Golden West Rustlers on a walkoff single by Cody Norton.
Palomar starter Taylor Turski was tagged for an unearned run as the first batter of the game reached base on an error by the shortstop. He would later score. Turski would bounce back to throw a 1-2-3 second inning.
The Comets scored in the second inning to tie the game at one after Mitchell Gallagher hit an RBI single.
Palomar first baseman Niko Holm was hit by a pitch with two outs in the third inning. Casey Henderson then hit a two-run home run, the first in Palomar College Ballpark history, that bounced off the scoreboard.
The Comets would find themselves in a jam in the top of the fourth inning as a hit-by-pitch, error, and a double steal would result with Rustlers on second and third with only one out. Palomar pitcher Mike Lopez came on in relief and would force an infield pop-up and struck out the next batter to keep the score at 3-1.
Turski pitched three and one/third innings with three strikeouts, while allowing three hits and one unearned run.
Golden West would score a run off Lopez in the seventh inning to make the score 3-2.
Mitchell Hayes came out of the bullpen with two outs in the top of the eighth inning as the tying run was on second with two outs. Hayes retired the only batter he faced in the inning.
Hayes would be unable to earn the save as a leadoff single, sac bunt, and a walk would put Rustlers on first and second with one out in the ninth inning. A hard hit groundball to the shortstop took a bad hop and deflected off his body, allowing the tying run to score.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Palomar left fielder Chase Grant hit a one-out triple to right field. He would then score on a beautifully placed walkoff single by Cody Norton. The final score was 4-3.
Notable Players:
Casey Henderson- Two hits, Two RBIs
Cody Norton- Two hits, one RBI
Mitchell Gallagher- One hit, one RBI
Mitchell Hayes- Winning pitcher
The Comets are now 1-2 for the season. They play next on Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. at Fullerton College.