BRUNSWICK, Ga. - Coastal Georgia overcame a one-run deficit with a pair of homers in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Faulkner 5-4 in Game 1 of the Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader here this afternoon. The Lady Eagles did managed to fend off another Mariner rally in the final at bat of the second event however, to earn the split with the 4-3 decision.

Faulkner's offense proved more patient in the opener than in its previous encounter with pitcher Dawn Stewart, who also fired from the circle in Game 1 on Monday. The Lady Eagles posted just two hits against Stewart at Wynn Field, but connected for 11 this afternoon.

Abbie Pierce sparked the visitors with a double in her first trip to the plate and Kelsey Hartley brought her home with an RBI single up the middle giving Faulkner a brief 1-0 lead in the first inning. 

Coastal answered with a run in the second, third and sixth innings, however, to put the Lady Eagles in a hard place.

The same duo struck again for Faulkner in the top of the seventh when Hartley smashed a two-run bomb to left-center field following a Pierce single up the gut.

The Mariners quickly deflated the visitors in the bottom of that same inning, though, when Andrea Coleman and Taylor Horne delivered back to back solo homers to secure the win.

Hannahlee Harris scored from third base on a fly out in foul territory in the first inning of Game 2 to put Faulkner on the board.

Hannah Qualls extended the lead by and additional run with an RBI single to right field in the second and Harris brought her home with a single to left just moments later.

Kendra Orozco then capped Faulkner's scoring efforts with an RBI double in the third inning.

Coastal broke its scoring silence in the bottom of the third and began inching its way back with additional runs in the fifth and seventh innings. The steady pace wasn't enough to overcome the damage the Lady Eagles had done in the early stages, however.

Pierce was an impressive 5-for-6 on the day and had a pair of runs in the opener. 

Hartley went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run in Game 1, while Orozco and Sophie Slemp were each 2-for-4 in the second game and had an RBI and scored respectively.

Hayden Strickland (9-6) gave up nine hits and five earned runs in six and a third innings from the circle in the Game 1 loss.

Mattie Dotson (13-8) also allowed nine hits and gave up three earned runs in the Game 2 victory. The seniorhad three strikeouts in the complete game performance.

Faulkner moved to 26-18 on the year and 14-12 in the league. The Lady Eagles close out the regular season in SSAC doubleheader action on Saturday against Brewton-Parker. Faulkner swept the Barons in their previous encounter earlier this month. Game 1 is slated for noon.