DAHLONEGA - For the fifth consecutive year, the No. 1 University of North Georgia softball team will play in the NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional after beating King, 9-1, Saturday afternoon at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium.

After a quiet first inning, the Nighthawks' offense got rolling in the second. A leadoff double by Alishia Frierson followed by a single from Kaylyn Anthony put two on with no outs. Shelby Hammontree brought home the first run on a sacrifice fly, and, two batters later, Jordan Deep hit a bomb to left center to give UNG an early 4-0 lead.

North Georgia added a fifth run in the third inning on an Anthony triple, giving Kylee Smith more than enough to earn her 33rd win of the year. After a King run in the fourth, North Georgia added two more in the sixth on a pinch-hit double by Kristen Adkins, making the score 7-1. The Nighthawks put up two more in the final inning on back-to-back RBI singles from Brittany Gilliam and Frierson.

NOTES
- Smith (33-1) earned the win, giving up just one run off one hit across five innings in the circle, striking out seven King batters along the way. The run given up was the first run allowed by the sophomore in 38 innings, dating back to game one against Georgia College on April 25.

- Anthony led the Nighthawks at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI. Frierson finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI.

- North Georgia has played in a regional championship game in 10 of 11 seasons that the Nighthawks have been eligible for postseason play. UNG has also gone to nine of 10 Super Regionals since Division II adopted the Super Regional format in 2009.

NEXT UP
North Georgia will host the Southeast Super Regional next Thursday and Friday (May 17-18) at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium against Young Harris after the Mountain Lions won the "if necessary" game Saturday up at Lenoir-Rhyne.