Coastal Georgia saved its best for last Thursday afternoon, pushing across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Warner 4-3 in the opening round of the Sun Conference Tournament and improve to 35-10 on the season. It was a hard-fought victory from start to finish, and the Mariners showed their trademark resilience in coming from behind to get the win.
Warner drew first blood in the top of the first when Lauren Fernald singled home Diana Martin to take a 1-0 lead. Coastal Georgia responded in the third with a strong two-run frame. Mackenzie Southerland led off with a solo home run to left field to tie the game, and Rily Andrews followed with an RBI groundout to score Maddy Lee and give the Mariners a 2-1 advantage.
The Royals answered in the fourth on an RBI double by Alisha Wagoner to knot things back up at two, and added another in the fifth on a pair of Mariner errors to take a 3-2 lead. Coastal Georgia did not flinch, however, with Southerland doubling in the fifth and eventually scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game at three heading into the final innings.
The Mariners set the stage for the winning rally in the seventh when Maddy Lee singled and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Warner right fielder. With two outs and the game on the line, Emma Jones came through with a clutch RBI single to score Lee and give Coastal Georgia the 4-3 victory.
Rylee Mills was steady throughout in the circle, going all seven innings and allowing just two earned runs while striking out one and improving her record to 19-5 on the season. She worked efficiently in the late innings and gave the offense time to deliver the decisive blow.
Southerland was the offensive star of the afternoon, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and an RBI while scoring twice. Maddy Lee reached base multiple times and scored the winning run, Carolino went 2-for-4 at the top of the lineup, and Jones delivered the biggest hit of the day with her seventh-inning single.
The Mariners advance in the Sun Conference Tournament and will look to keep the momentum going as tournament play continues.
