SALEM, Va. - The No. 1 University of North Georgia softball team has completed practice and community service and is now looking ahead to Thursday morning's matchup with Southern Indiana to open the 2018 NCAA Division II Softball Championship at the Moyer Sports Complex.

The Nighthawks and Screaming Eagles will meet for the first time in program history Thursday in the first of four games to open play in the tournament. North Georgia, the Southeast Region champions, have made the NCAA Championship round four previous times, winning the tournament in 2015. The Nighthawks have played into the postseason in every year since 2008, the first year North Georgia was eligible to compete in postseason play, going 52-21 over that time.

Earlier Wednesday, Kylee Smith was named the Ron Lenz

USI comes into the contest at 36-23 with wins over Grand Valley State, Indianapolis and, most recently, nationally-ranked Illinois Springfield on the way to Salem. Sophomore outfielder Allison Schubert and junior second baseman Claire Thompson each hit .500 to lead the Eagles at the plate against Illinois Springfield. Schubert had a pair of doubles and three RBIs, including the game-winning RBIs in both contests, while Johnson scored three runs. Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt went 2-0 with a pair of complete game shutouts, a .167 opponent batting average and 18 strikeouts to lead USI in the circle.

First pitch is at 11 a.m. Thursday morning. Fans can catch the game online at NCAA.com or from the tournament website.