VIERA, Fla. — Unable to carry their morning momentum into the afternoon, the College of Coastal Georgia fell 2-1 to Avila University in a tight pitching duel, dropping their fourth game of the season. Despite collecting seven hits and keeping themselves in the game until the final out, CCGA could not manufacture the tying run when it mattered most.
Rylee Mills was excellent in a losing effort, going the full seven innings and allowing just two earned runs on three hits while striking out four. The junior right-hander had her defense make plays behind her all morning and kept Avila's lineup largely in check, but a two-run double from Stephanie Hayes in the fourth inning was enough to decide the outcome. It was the kind of game where Mills gave the Mariners every opportunity to win, and the loss drops her to 7-2 despite yet another quality outing.
CCGA drew first blood in the bottom of the first when Emma Jones singled, stole second, and came around to score on a Rily Andrews fielder's choice to put the Mariners up 1-0. That lead held until the fourth, when Avila put together their two-run rally to take a lead the Mariners would spend the rest of the game chasing.
The frustrating reality of the afternoon was that CCGA had chances but could never deliver the clutch hit needed to tie the game. Andrews singled and stole second in the fourth with one out, only for the next two batters to come up empty. The Mariners had baserunners in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings as well, including a promising two-on situation with one out in the seventh when Mackenzie Southerland singled and Maddy Lee followed with a single and a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position, but the final two outs came without a run crossing the plate.
Jones was the most productive hitter in the lineup, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored, while Andrews, Mills, Southerland, Lee, and McKenzie Collins each contributed a hit. The Mariners finished with seven hits on the day but stranded five runners and were unable to take advantage of Avila's pitching change in the fourth inning when McKayla Cotton entered and shut CCGA down over the final four frames without allowing a run.
The loss drops Coastal Georgia to 18-4, but the Mariners have shown throughout this stretch of tournament play that they are capable of competing with quality opponents on any given day. With the tournament now complete, the focus shifts back to Brunswick and the start of conference play as the regular season schedule intensifies.
