Warner University's Elle Hernandez was sharp from start to finish in the nightcap, holding the College of Coastal Georgia to four hits and two runs over seven innings as the Royals claimed a 3-2 victory to split Thursday's doubleheader. The loss drops the Mariners to 19-5 on the season.
Hernandez rebounded emphatically after taking the loss in the first game, this time working efficiently through the CCGA lineup without issuing a single strikeout while inducing weak contact all evening. She allowed just four hits across seven innings and kept the Mariners off balance in situations where they threatened, finishing the day with a split decision against one of the better programs she will face all season.
Warner struck first in the second inning with two unearned runs built on small ball and situational hitting. April Dominguez singled home the first run and Autumn Calcagno added a sacrifice fly for the second, and the Royals used that 2-0 cushion to keep CCGA at bay for most of the game. Diana Martin added a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning after Meagan Bruns doubled to set the table, giving Warner the 3-2 lead it would not relinquish.
McKenzie Collins took the loss, falling to 3-1 after allowing two earned runs over four innings. Brooke Perdue came on in relief and was solid for two innings but surrendered the decisive run in the sixth on Martin's single before the Mariners could not answer in the seventh.
CCGA's two runs came in the fifth inning, when Mackenzie Southerland stole third and came home on a Kaitlyn Carolino fielder's choice, and Emma Jones followed with another RBI fielder's choice to tie the game at two. The Mariners had opportunities in the sixth and seventh but could not push the tying run across, stranding six runners on base for the game against a pitcher who consistently induced the soft contact needed to escape trouble.
Southerland and Ashley Stanley each reached base multiple times, and Carolino and Jones both drove in runs despite the offensive struggles. The Mariners finished with just four hits on the evening, a quiet night for a lineup that had been so productive earlier in the day.
