COLUMBUS, Ga. — The College of Coastal Georgia suffered its first loss of the season Friday afternoon at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, falling to Lindsey Wilson 3-2 in eight innings at South Commons Complex. The Mariners had their chances but could never quite break through against a Lindsey Wilson pitching staff that kept them off balance for most of the afternoon.
Emilia Clemons was outstanding in her starting role, delivering 5.1 innings of one-run ball while striking out four and allowing just three hits. She kept the Blue Raiders' offense largely in check and gave CCGA every opportunity to win the game. Brooke Perdue took over in the sixth and pitched well through most of her 2.2-inning stint, but was tagged for two runs in the eighth inning that proved to be the difference. A wild pitch in the sixth had allowed the game's first run to score, and then in the eighth, an E. McKinnis double and a sacrifice fly from N. Wandrie off Perdue pushed the Lindsey Wilson advantage to 3-1 before the Mariners could rally.
Offensively, CCGA was stifled through much of the contest by starter H. Roberts, who held the Mariners to just one hit over five innings while walking three. The Mariners' best opportunities early were squandered by timely Lindsey Wilson defense and a lineup that struggled to string hits together against quality pitching. The breakthrough finally came in the seventh when Avery Callaway singled, advanced on a Julianna Batts sacrifice, and scored on a Rylie Smith double to tie the game at one and force extra innings.
The tying run gave CCGA life, but Lindsey Wilson responded with two runs in the top of the eighth off Perdue to retake the lead at 3-1. The Mariners mounted one final rally in the bottom of the eighth under international tiebreaker rules, with Kaitlyn Carolino placed on second to start the inning. Mackenzie Southerland was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home Carolino and make it 3-2, but the Mariners could not push the tying run across, with the final out coming on a Batts strikeout to end the game.
Smith finished with a double and an RBI in limited plate appearances, while Callaway went 1-for-4 with a key single that ignited the seventh-inning rally. Rily Andrews and Batts also contributed hits, but the Mariners' nine runners left on base told the story of a frustrating afternoon in which opportunities were plentiful but results were not. Despite the loss, CCGA drops to 11-1 and remains one of the stronger teams in the field at the Leadoff Classic, with the résumé of an unbeaten start still very much intact heading into the rest of the tournament.
