Palomar rolls past West Valley, soars into Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
SARATOGA, Calif – Palomar kept it rolling in its second game of the day, cruising past West Valley, 9-0 in an elimination battle with the Vikings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Palomar got on the board early when Alexis Huey cleared the bases in the first inning with a laser double into the left center gap. Huey's second double of the day after hitting one in the first game, set the tone for the game and lifted the Comets to a 3-0 advantage.
An inning later, Zoe Karam went opposite field, sending a triple to the wall, bringing home a pair of Comets and expanding the lead to 5-0. All five runs scored by Palomar in the first two innings were unearned. The Comets brought the runs home with two outs following errors in each inning.
Most of the trouble Nevaeh Haywood found herself in throughout the game came in the first and third. The Vikings had runners reach third in each of those innings, but Haywood's command forced soft outs to keep West Valley scoreless.
As the game went on, she settled in, retiring nine of the final 10 Viking hitters from the fourth through sixth innings. Haywood held the state's second-best offense by batting average to five hits and baserunners.
In the sixth with a 6-0 lead, Lauren Doepping ripped a touring, no-doubt home run to left – driving in three runs to end the game.
DOMINANT 9-0 win for Palomar over West Valley! Nevaeh Haywood was lights out in the circle and Lauren Doepping with a monstrous homer to send the Comets to Saturday! pic.twitter.com/roQgMe75P4
— 3CFCA (@3CFCA) May 17, 2025
UP NEXT
Palomar moves on to face the winner of the El Camino and Orange Coast game at 8 p.m. tonight.
West Valley's season ended on their home turf at 42-5. This season marked the first time since 2006 the Vikings reached the state tournament, and was the most wins they've tallied in a season in the same amount of time.
