Navarro Leads Comets to Game 1 Win at 3C2A Championships

Irvine, Calif. - Palomar's Joey Navarro emptied the tank on the mound, pitching a complete-game gem to lead his team to a 6-2 win in Game 1 of the 3C2A Baseball State Championships on Saturday at Great Park.

With the win, the Comets (42-6) advance to the championship semifinals, where they will take on the winner between Ohlone and Santa Ana on Sunday at 2 p.m. The loss drops the Golden Eagles (36-15) to the consolation semifinals, where they will take on the losing team of the Renegades/Dons matchup on Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m.

If its his last appearance of 2026, Navarro (10-2) went out in style, using 140 pitches to hold Feather River to just two runs on four hits, walking only three, while striking out 10.

Palomar jumped out in front early, scoring a run in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch off the body of Preston Conklin.

FRC tied the game in the top of the third when Noah Carrington led off the frame with a bad-hop double down the left-field line. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Davies and scored two batters later on a fielder's choice off the bat of Walker DesRosier. 

Palomar took advantage of a pair of costly errors which caused the majority of the damage down the stretch. In the bottom of the seventh with two outs and a runner on third, a harmless ground ball to end the inning was overthrown, allowing Conklin to score from third to put Palomar up, 4-2. One batter later, Adrian Macias slugged an opposite-field, two-run home run to put the Comets up, 6-2. Four of Palomar's six runs in the game were unearned, putting even more strain on the Golden Eagle pitching staff. 

But the story was Navarro, who kept FRC's leadoff batters off the bases in seven of his nine innings pitched, allowing for less stress and an opportunity for a rare complete game. In the top of the ninth, Feather River put runners first and second before Navarro retired the final FRC batter on a harmless ground out to third to end the game.

Rainn McMillan went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI for the Comets, while Michael Rodda added two hits and a RBI.

Nick Anderson went 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Eagles. FRC starter Jack Hanna (6-2), took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings. Jayden Andrade, Gunner Mountcastle, and Carter Lindyn held the Comets to no earned runs over the final 5 1/3, but the four unearned runs over that span proved to be the difference.

Courtesy of Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA