On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Rylee Mills turned in another gem on the mound as the College of Coastal Georgia softball team edged Thomas University 2-1 to improve to 7-0 on the season.
Mills was masterful through all seven innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out five and walking two. The junior right-hander now stands 4-0 on the year and has established herself as one of the more dominant pitchers in the conference, consistently keeping opposing lineups off balance with efficiency and poise. Her 110-pitch complete game effort was a testament to her endurance and competitiveness in a game that was decided by the finest of margins.
Coastal Georgia struck first in the top of the first inning when Kaitlyn Carolino worked a walk, promptly stole second, and came around to score on a Rily Andrews fielder's choice that plated the game's opening run. Thomas answered in the third when P. Wallace reached and stole second before scoring on a G. Hodges single to center, knotting the game at one heading into the middle innings.
From there, both pitching staffs settled in and the game became a genuine duel. CCGA had opportunities, most notably loading the bases in the fifth after a pair of Thomas errors, but could not push a run across. The Mariners were repeatedly turned away in clutch situations, leaving ten runners on base for the game, and it wasn't until the seventh inning that the winning run finally came home.
Carolino sparked the decisive rally by doubling to center field to lead off the seventh. Emma Jones reached on a throwing error to put two runners in scoring position, and after Jones stole second to load up the pressure, Mackenzie Southerland delivered the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Carolino and gave CCGA the 2-1 lead it would not relinquish.
Carolino was the clear offensive catalyst in the victory, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Southerland drove in both of the team's runs with a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout earlier in the game, quietly putting together a productive afternoon without a hit. Andrews also contributed with an RBI despite going hitless, while Ella Romano and Emerson Askew provided timely contributions off the bench to keep innings alive.
The win extended Coastal Georgia's perfect start to seven games and showcased the team's ability to grind out victories in low-scoring affairs — a quality that will only serve them well as conference play approaches.
