Rylee Mills delivered another complete-game performance and the College of Coastal Georgia offense came through with timely hitting in the fifth inning to defeat Webber International 5-2 on Saturday afternoon, completing the three-game series sweep and improving to 22-5 on the season.
Mills was tested more than she had been in either of the first two games of the series, but the junior right-hander proved once again why she is one of the top pitchers in the NAIA. She went all seven innings, allowing just one earned run on eight hits while striking out two and walking one. Webber kept the ball in play all afternoon and put runners on base in several innings, but Mills made the big pitches when she needed to and finished with 92 pitches in another complete-game effort that pushes her record to 10-2 on the season.
The Mariners drew first blood in the third inning when a wild pitch scored Emma Jones, who had singled and been set up perfectly by Rylee Mills and Rily Andrews. Webber answered in the fourth on an unearned run when a wild pitch scored Dominica Kohout to tie the game at one, setting up a tense back half of the game.
The fifth inning proved to be the decisive frame. Kaitlyn Carolino singled and stole second to set the table, and Jones came through with an RBI fielder's choice to put the Mariners back ahead. Mills followed with a two-run double that scored Jones and extended the lead to 3-1, and Emerson Askew capped the three-run inning with an RBI double that pushed the advantage to 4-1 and gave Mills enough cushion to work with the rest of the way.
Southerland added an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Jones, who had reached and been moved into scoring position on an Andrews sacrifice bunt, to make it 5-1. Webber scratched across a run in the bottom of the seventh on an Emma Newgent fielder's choice, but Mills retired the final batter to close out the series victory.
Jones was the offensive catalyst throughout the game, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs scored in a performance that keyed everything the Mariners did offensively. Carolino went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, Mills contributed two hits and an RBI, and Southerland and Askew each added a double and an RBI. With the sweep of Webber International, Coastal Georgia heads into the next stretch of the season riding a wave of confidence and with Mills firmly established as one of the most dominant pitchers in the country.
