Tournament Preview: The No. 3 University of North Georgia softball team will open the 2019 season on the road at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex to take part in the Gulf Coast Invitational. UNG will play seven games over three days, including a showdown against No. 22 Valdosta State Sunday afternoon.

Rankings: UNG is ranked No. 3 in the preseason NFCA top 25 poll, announced earlier this week. Southern Indiana, the defending national champs, were picked as the unanimous No. 1 team in the poll.

Nighthawks on the Web: Links for the weekend that are available can be found on the UNG softball team's schedule page at UNGAthletics.com. Fans can also follow the action through Twitter by following the softball team (@UNGSoftball).
 
Last Season: North Georgia advanced to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship for the first time since winning the championship in 2015. The Nighthawks set a new program record for wins in a single season a year ago, winning 62 of 66 games in 2018. UNG was the winningest program in all divisions a year ago. The Nighthawks went 19-1 in league action, falling only to Young Harris on the road.
 
Opponents: North Georgia will play West Alabama and Auburn-Montgomery on Friday; Montevallo, Union and Shorter on Saturday; and No. 22 Valdosta State and Mississippi College on Sunday.

Preseason Poll: The Nighthawks were picked as a unanimous favorite to win the Peach Belt Conference in the preseason coaches poll. North Georgia is looking to win their sixth consecutive regular season title, which would extend the record set last season by UNG.

Preseason Accolades: Kaylyn Anthony, Shelby Hammontree and Hobby Gregory joined Kylee Smith on the Preseason All-Peach Belt team announced earlier this month. Anthony and Hammontree were each named All-Region a year ago, while all four were All-Conference honorees in 2018.

Tournament History: North Georgia is 15-2 all-time in the Gulf Coast Invitational, having played in the event each of the last three seasons.