LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - It was a 1-1 day on day two in Lawrenceville for the College of Coastal Georgia softball team as they defeated Lindsey Wilson by a final of 7-4 before falling to the host school Georgia Gwinnett by a final of 7-3 on Satrurday.
GAME ONE: CCGA 7, LWC 4
Playing as the home team for the one and only time over the weekend, the Mariners (7-2) got a quick top of the first inning from starter McKenzie Collins as her and her offense looked to get some early run support in the very first inning. In the bottom half, Rylee Mills drew a two out walk but that was all as the game went to the second still tied at zero.
In the second, the Blue Raiders (1-2) got some major traffic on the bases with two outs. After drawing a walk and a single, LWC was in business. The next batter, Tucker, singled up the middle, but Kaitlyn Carolino threw the go ahead run out at home to preserve the tie into the bottom of the second. In the bottom half, the Mariners seemed to be headed towards another quick inning until the tides turned. Mackenzie Southerland drew a one out walk, and two batters later, Ella Romano and Avery Callaway hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with two outs in the inning. As the lineup turned over, Kaitlyn Carolino was patient in the box and drew the bases loaded walk to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. Brooke Perdue then stepped to the plate, still with the bases juiced, and delivered a three RBI double to extend the Mariners lead to 4-0. Mills then returned to the plate and joined the party, sending her own double to right field to score Perdue and cap off a five run second inning for the Mariners.
After Collins fired a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, Callaway and Carolino got the Mariners offense started in the bottom half with two singles and both advanced 60 feet on their own to make it second and third with nobody out. Mills later walked to load the bases, but with two outs in the inning it looked like the Mariners would squander another scoring opportunity. That was not the case, however, as Collins helped her own cause with a two out double to extend her lead to 7-0 going into the top of the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, the Blue Raiders finally got on the scoreboard and they did it in a very loud way, striking for four runs in the inning, three of those coming with two outs in the inning, as LWC cut into the Mariners lead and made it 7-4 going into the bottom half.
Moving to the sixth, Emilia Clemons took over in the circle for Collins and put up another zero for the Mariners on defense as the game went into the bottom of the sixth with the same score. The Mariners went down in order in the bottom half, sending Clemons back out needing just three outs to get the win for their second on the weekend.
Callaway finished game one 2-2 from the plate while also scoring a pair of runs. Collins and Perdue both recorded a hit each and combined to drive in five of the seven runs for the Mariners.
Collins picked up the win in the circle going five innings allowing eight hits, four runs, two walks and no strikeouts. For her efforts in relief, Clemons picked up her first career save, firing two innings, allowing no hits or runs, but gave up four walks in the process.
GAME TWO: CCGA 3, Georgia Gwinnett 7
After putting up a zero in the first inning against one of the best pitchers in the country, the Mariners were desperate to keep the Grizzlies (0-0) off the board in the bottom half. It was not to be, however, as Mills allowed two runs in her first inning of work as GGC took a 2-0 lead into the second.
The second inning was not much better as Annalise Jarvis kept the Mariners offense quiet once again, and this time, her Grizzlies offense gave her more run support. At the end of two, GGC lead 6-0 and had all of the momentum.
By the fifth, the Grizzlies led 7-0 and were on the verge of ending the game early before the Mariners offense finally broke through. Collins and Southerland started the inning off with back-to-back singles to get the inning started, followed by a bunt single from Clemons to load the bases with nobody out. After Callaway lined out, Jones singled to the shortstop to score Collins and give the Mariners their first run of the game. One batter later, Carolino sent a sac fly into center to score Southerland as the Mariners cut into the lead and made it a 7-2 game going into the bottom of the fifth.
As Clemons left the Grizzlies scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, the Mariners kept inching closer in the sixth. Three straight singles from Andrews, Collins, and Southerland, the latter being an RBI single, cut down the Grizzlies lead once again as CCGA now trailed 7-3. The one run is all the Mariners got, but in the bottom half, a double play helped Clemons put up one more zero to give the Mariners a chance in the seventh.
In the final frame the Mariners got no momentum and went down in order to end the game and drop their final game in Lawrenceville to the host by a final of 7-3.
Southerland and Collins both finished 2-3 from the plate as the Mariners tagged the 3x All-American Jarvis for eight hits in the contest. Coming in for Mills, Clemons pitched 4.2 innings of beautiful relief, allowing just four hits, one run, and one walk while striking out one as well.
The Mariners return to action on Tuesday as they make the short trip north up I-95 to take on Savannah State. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
