Palomar Blanks Riverside, 3-0, Tuesday in Nonconference Action

RIVERSIDE -- In some semblance of a rematch between the finalists for 2013 state championship, the Palomar College Comets broke a scoreless tie with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fifth and added an insurance run in the seventh and blanked Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's softball team, 3-0, Tuesday (Apr. 14) afternoon at Brown Field (Evans Sports Cmplex).

Palomar (28-3-1 overall) won that 2013 state crown with a 7-2 victory over RCC in the "if necessary" game played in Bakersfield.

The Comets' 2B Brooke Huddleson, who went three for four, stroked a two-run single with two outs in the top of the fifth to put Palomar on the board, 2-0.

Riverside (10-25 overall) had only two hits in the game: a lead-off double in the bottom of the first inning by frosh 1B Jordan Emanuele (Norco / Norco HS / UC Riverside) and a lead-off single in the seventh by Elise Ramirez before she was erased on a double-play.

RCC sophomore starting RHP Alexis Holman (Riverside / John W. North HS) went the first 5.0 innings, scattered five hits and allowed two runs (both unearned) and one walk as her record fell to 5-14. Frosh RHP Magen Luna (San Bernardino / A.B  Miller HS)  went the final 2.0 innings and allowed two hits, one run (earned) and walked two.

Palomar starting RHP Summer Evans went the first 5.0 innings and allowed just the double to Emanuele, walked three and struck out one to improve to 19-3. Kristina Carbajal pitched the final 2.0 innings to earn her first save. 

Both teams return to the respective conferences to continue their seasons on Wednesday, Apr. 15. Palomar will visit the Imperial Valley College (IVC) Arabs in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) game at 1 p.m. Riverside will return to Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action when it visits the Orange Coast College (OCC) Pirates in a 3 p.m. start.

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