SAN MARCOS -- The man from down under lifted the Palomar College baseball team over the top Saturday afternoon.

With his parents visiting from Perth, Australia, sophomore right-hander Sam Jew threw seven strong innings as the Comets beat Citrus 5-2 to complete a sweep in the best-of-3 Southern California regional playoff series.

Palomar (34-11-1), the No. 1 seed in Southern California, will host a four-team, double-elimination super regional May 15-17.

"I didn't have any playoff jitters," said Jew, who improved to 10-1 after allowing just one run and four hits over seven innings. "For me, the hour just before the game is the worst. So I just try to stay focused and relaxed."

The Comets, the visiting team in their home park, helped Jew relax by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning.

Victor Martinez started the rally with a leadoff single and Tyler Saladino was hit by a pitch. Alfonso Casillas doubled in one run and Brenden Webb singled in two more.

"That was huge," Jew said. "A lead like that really helps a pitcher relax. You don't feel like you have to strike every hitter out.

"It takes the pressure off."

The three runs were all Palomar could muster off Citrus starter Chris Freedman until the ninth inning, when B.K. Santy's double and a Terrence Buchanan sacrifice fly drove in two runs against a tiring Freedman.

"After the first inning, their guy got really tough," said Palomar coach Buck Taylor. "We got to him in the first, then he kept us off balance.

"As coaches, we complained that our hitters weren't aggressive enough. Now we're a little too aggressive, and he used that against us."

Jew, who is headed to Arkansas State next season, used all four of his pitches -- fastball, curve, slider and change up -- to stymie the Owls (25-18).

Left-hander Shawn Sanford struck out two in the eighth. Casey Edelbrock came on in the ninth after Sanford issued a leadoff walk.

"Sam Jew doesn't blow anyone away," Taylor said. "But he throws four pitches for strikes. He's smart. He uses his defense, and our coaches did a nice job scouting Citrus and setting our defense."

Webb has also done a nice job for the Comets this season.

The freshman center fielder from Mt. Carmel High is hitting .365 and his two RBIs Saturday pushed his season total to 36.

He has gone from a non-prospect in the eyes of the professional scouts to perhaps as high as a fifth-rounder in the June draft.

"We were dialed in (during) the first inning," Webb said. "Then their guy adjusted. The coaches are asking us to be aggressive at the plate, but we need to know when to be aggressive -- like when you're ahead early in the count.

"Sam Jew pitched a heck of a game. With him, the three runs we got in the first is usually all he needs. But we can't rest on that."

That's exactly what Taylor thought.

So he asked the Comets to report back to the field Saturday, 60 minutes after the win over Citrus so that No. 3 starter Matt Strom could get in his work in a scrimmage situation.

"Certainly, we'd rather have the afternoon off," Webb said. "But we work hard and trust the coaches . We worked hard to get the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage. There is no reason to stop working hard now."

Staff writer John Maffei can be reached at (760) 740-3547.