BRUNSWICK, Ga. – In what turned out to be a five and a half hour double header, the Coastal Georgia softball team split their Friday afternoon double header with the Southeastern Fire, losing game one 4-0 before walking off game two 3-2.
 
Game One: CCGA 0, SEU 4
 
The first game of the series was the textbook definition of a pitchers duel until the top of the seventh inning when the Fire exploded for three runs to pull away. Bryce Peacock and Edan Playa dueled until the final out, with Playa getting the upper hand in their first meeting.
 
Chapel Cunningham started the game off with a single and immediately stole second to put pressure on the Mariners (32-9, 12-5 TSC) instantly. Peacock worked around it, however, and got the next three batters in order to send the game to the bottom of the first still tied.
 
Other than one off hits every now and then, the game remained close until the third inning when the Mariners had their best chance to break the game open. MacKenzie Kagee started the inning with a walk, and Sarah Thinger and Rori Rhodes followed suit with back-to-back singles to load the bases with nobody out. With the Fire (32-13, 12-5 TSC) in trouble, Playa did what she does best and that is keep opponents off the scoreboard, getting the next three Mariners out in order to strand the bases loaded and keep the game tied at zero going into the fourth.
 
The Fire took advantage in the very next inning scoring the first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning. Gonzalez started the inning with a leadoff double and moved to third on a bunt single from Sekinger. Peacock did manage to get two straight outs, but the Fire got a timely hit from Quillen to put them on the board and lead 1-0 into the bottom half.
 
Until the top of the sixth inning, Rhodes was the lone base runner for either side, reaching on a hit by pitch in the fifth. A single and an error in the top half of the sixth put runners at the corners for the Fire, but Peacock stranded them with a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, the Mariners once again had a great chance to tie or even take the lead. Rylee Mills led off the inning with a single, and back-to-back fielders choices put Mackenzie Southerland on first with two outs. Morgan Coleman came into the game as a pinch hitter and singled into left center putting two on with two outs. Both Coleman and Courtney Beck, pich running for Southerland, advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch, but could not come in to score as Alyssa Haggerty popped out to end the threat in the sixth, and the game went to the seventh with the Fire still leading 1-0.
 
In the seventh, the wheels fell off the bus for the Mariners as three runs came across to score in the top of the inning on just two hits and a Mariners error, making the deficit 4-0 into the bottom half.
 
Rhodes slashed a two out double in the bottom of the seventh, but that was all CCGA could get as they fell 4-0 in game one.
 
Rhodes finished 2-3 as she recorded two of the five Mariner hits in the game, as Thinger, Southerland, and Coleman all recorded one hit each. Peacock pitched six innings allowing eight hits and two earned runs with just one walk and four strikeouts as she picked up her fourth loss of the season.
 
Game Two: CCGA 3, SEU 2
 
Julianna Batts, who was 0-3 in game one and hitless until her final at bat in game two, potentially saved the Mariners chance at a regular season conference championship and a first-round bye in the Sun Conference tournament with a huge two out single to walk off game two.
 
The Mariners wasted no time putting pressure on the Fire after the 30 minute break, loading the bases in the very first inning. Thinger drew a leadoff walk, Peacock walked, and Mills singled to left loading the bases with just one out. Once again, the Mariners failed to cash in on the golden opportunity, stranding the bases loaded as the game remained tied into the second.
 
Southeastern broke through on the scoreboard first once again in game two, scoring once in the third. Three straight singles from Quillen, Brooks, and Cunningham quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. The game looked to be getting out of hand when an error allowed the first run of the game to score and kept the bases loaded with still nobody out. Credit to Mills, she stood her ground and got three massive outs in a row to limit the damage to just one.
 
The gritty pitching from Mills immediately payed off in the bottom half as the Mariners tied the game back up. Rhodes was hit by a pitch and stole second, her 22^nd of the season, and moved to third on a Peacock single. Peacock later stole second, and Mills came through in the batter's box with an RBI single to score Rhodes and tie the game at one going into the fourth.
 
Both sides went in order in the fourth and both got one hit in the fifth, leaving the score 1-1 into the sixth where the Fire struck again.
 
A leadoff walk found its way to third thanks to a pair of groundouts, and came around to score on a wild pitch from Elizabeth McGovern, who relieved Mills after the walk. A double play ended the Mariners half in the sixth, and it looked like late inning heartbreak once again as the Fire led 2-1 into the seventh.
 
McGovern pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top half, and the Mariners went to work and refused to quit. Coleman, in her first collegiate start, drew a leadoff walk and was pinch ran for by Rily Andrews. Andrews made it to third on a pair of groundouts, and after a long, tough at bat, Rhodes singled into center to tie the game. Peacock and Mills followed suit with singles of their own to load the bases for Batts. With the crowd in a frenzy, Batts worked the count and found her pitch, sending it just past a diving Cunningham at short to score Rhodes and walk the game off in the seventh, giving the Mariners the 3-2 victory.
 
Batts finished 1-4 on the game with the biggest hit and RBI of her young career, while Peacock and Mills combined to go 6-7 in game two in the three and four holes. McGovern picked up her fifth win of the season, pitching two innings of flawless relief allowing no runs or hits.
 
The finale between the Fire and Mariners will be tomorrow afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. During pregame, the College of Coastal Georgia Softball will honor our four seniors: Elizabeth McGovern, Bryce Peacock, Rori Rhodes, and Sarah Thinger.