Coastal Georgia closed out its three-game series against New College of Florida in emphatic fashion Wednesday afternoon, rolling to an 11-1 mercy-rule victory to complete the sweep and move to 26-5 on the season. The Mariners outscored the Navigators 26-4 across the three-game set.
New College of Florida drew first blood in the top of the first when Mackenzie Mathers singled home Karyna Lewis to take a 1-0 lead. Coastal Georgia answered immediately in the bottom half. Kaitlyn Carolino drew a walk, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Rylee Mills to knot the game at one.
The Mariners blew the game open in a massive seven-run second inning that chased starter Isabella Yazzetti after just 1.1 innings of work. The frame was fueled largely by New College of Florida miscues, as three Navigator errors kept the inning alive and allowed several unearned runs to cross the plate. Emma Jones delivered a two-run single, Rily Andrews reached on an error to score another, Emerson Askew added a sacrifice fly, and Mackenzie Southerland capped the outburst with a two-run double. Maddy Lee then tacked on an RBI double to push the lead to 8-1 before the inning was finally over.
Coastal Georgia added three more in the fourth to put any doubt to rest. McKenzie Collins delivered the knockout blow, launching a three-run home run — her first of the season — after Brooke Perdue had doubled to set the table. The blast made it 11-1 and triggered the mercy rule.
Mills was strong in the circle, tossing four innings and allowing just one earned run while picking up the win to improve her record to 13-1 on the season. Collins came on in relief and threw a perfect fifth inning to close things out.
At the plate, Jones went 2-for-2 with two RBI, Southerland finished 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI, and Mills added a 2-for-3 day with an RBI of her own. Carolino continued her stellar series at the top of the lineup, reaching base twice and scoring twice. Lee chipped in a double and an RBI out of the catcher's spot, and Perdue contributed a double and set the stage for the Collins home run with her fourth-inning hit.
With the three-game sweep secured, Coastal Georgia has now won back-to-back series in dominant fashion and shows no signs of slowing down at 26-5. The Mariners will turn their attention to their next opponent as they look to keep building on what has been an outstanding season.
