Peacock's two homers lead Mariners to sweep in home opener

Mar. 5—Coastal Georgia's softball team finally had their home opener as the Mariners swept Columbia International in a doubleheader on Thursday.

It was a defensive battle in Game 1 as the Mariners had to fight it out to win 3-2. However, Coastal's bats got hot for Game 2 as they won 7-0 against the Rams.

Freshman Bryce Peacock was a crucial playmaker in both games on the mound and at the plate. In Game 1, she hit a solo home run to give the Mariners a 3-2 advantage, then in Game 2 — she hit a two-run homer to start a five-run inning.

Peacock also stood her ground on the mound in Game 1 as she pitched five innings, giving up no runs or hits while striking out six batters and walking two.

"We knew when we got her — she can hit, run, pitch, and she's doing it all for us," said Coastal Georgia coach Mike Minick. "It's not easy to do, and she's doing a great job."

In Game 1, Coastal tallied nine hits but was only able to score three runs.

Neither team could get any runs on the board until the third inning, when Mary Waldron got it going by hitting a double. Sarah Thinger followed her up with a single of her own, scoring Waldron to make it 1-0.

However, Thinger got caught at third for the second out, then Cevana Wood got the final out of the inning.

In the fourth inning, Coastal added another run after Kayla Rowell got things going with a single. She advanced to third through a Rori Rhodes out and a Peacock single. Then she scored when Malarie Peacock grounded out at first.

The Rams finally found some offense in the top of the sixth inning, scoring two runs off new pitcher Elizabeth McGovern, who relieved Peacock.

However, those two runs didn't seem to faze the Mariners, as in the bottom of the sixth inning, Peacock hit a one-out solo homer to give Coastal the run to win the game.

The Mariners went on to stop the Rams' comeback and earn the win. Game 2 started similarly as neither team could score in the opening inning. However, it wouldn't take three for the Mariners to get their offense going.

Rhodes opened the inning by getting walked. Then Peacock stepped up to the plate and rocketed it to centerfield, kicking off a five-run inning.

"She hits a home run to win it in Game 1 — a freshman, that was pretty good," Minick said. "Then in the second one, her home run got us kick-started again, so she had two back-to-back home runs. It was just in two different games. That was two straight at-bats. It was just in two different games straight at-bat."

Minick said that hit got the momentum rolling, and the Mariners would continue as Hayley Dickerson, and Waldron both hit singles. Then Thinger hit a single that advanced everyone and allowed Dickerson to score on a throwing error. Wood followed that up with her own single that scored Waldron and Thinger.

Coastal followed up that five-run inning with a two-run third inning as well. Rhodes hit a single to get things going, and then Peacock got walked. Samantha Hiley grounded out to third base, but it allowed Rhodes to score. Julianna Bellflower hit a single to centerfield, allowing Peacock to reach and make it 7-0.

The Mariners' defense took over after that and avoided any comeback. They gave up just two hits in Game 2 between three pitchers.

Overall, Minick said he thought his girls played well.

"In the circle, all five pitchers pitched, and we only gave up two runs all day," Minick said. "I thought the defense was good — we made a couple of mistakes late. I don't know if that was a lack of focus or what I thought we played solid all day. We didn't hit the ball like we've been doing in the first game, so the game stayed close.

"Then in the second game, we got a few more hits, and it makes a difference. A lot of freshmen came through today. Bryce Peacock, with two home runs, Elizabeth McGovern and got another win in the circle. Sarah Thinger had some more hits at shortstop, Rori Rhodes, the other second baseman, play good."

Minick said it's great to see the younger girls do well, but overall it was a total team effort.

"Everybody on the team got in and played some today was just nice to see, so I thought it was good," Minick said.

Coastal Georgia improves to 7-1 overall on the season. Up next for the Mariners is another doubleheader game on Saturday at home against Ohio Christian University, Game 1 is set for 2 p.m. and the second to follow.