Rylee Mills was nothing short of masterful on Friday morning, throwing a two-hit shutout to lift the College of Coastal Georgia to a 1-0 victory over Warner University in the series finale at Daly Field. The win gives the Mariners the series two games to one and improves their record to 20-5 on the season, while Mills becomes the first pitcher on the roster to reach double-digit wins, improving to 10-1.
Mills was in complete control from the first pitch to the last out, needing just 51 pitches to work through the entire Warner lineup. She did not walk a single batter, struck out two, and induced weak contact all morning long, finishing with ten groundouts and nine flyouts in what was a clinic in pitching efficiency. Warner's only real threat came in the first inning when Diana Martin singled and advanced to third, but Mills retired the next three batters without allowing a run and never looked back. The two-hit shutout was the most dominant outing of her already impressive season and a performance that will be difficult for any opponent to match.
Hernandez was equally sharp on the other side, holding CCGA to five hits over seven innings and keeping the Mariner offense scoreless until the very last chance. Both pitchers were locked in throughout, and for six innings it appeared the game might be heading to extra innings.
The Mariners finally broke through in the seventh when Mackenzie Southerland drew a leadoff walk and Emerson Askew singled to put two runners on base. Maddy Lee laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up, and Julianna Batts delivered the game's only run with a groundout to second base that scored Southerland and gave the Mariners all they would need.
It was a fitting end to a hard-fought series in which all three games were decided by a combined four runs. Batts, who came up with the only RBI of the game, and Southerland, who scored the decisive run, deserve significant credit for their clutch contributions in the seventh. Mills, however, was the undeniable story of the morning — and with ten wins before the midpoint of the season, she is firmly establishing herself as one of the premier pitchers in the NAIA.
