DAHLONEGA - For the first time since 2018, the No. 2 University of North Georgia softball team can call themselves the Southeast Region Champions as they swept No. 5 Lincoln Memorial on Championship Saturday to punch their ticket to Denver for the NCAA Division II Softball Championship.

GAME ONE - #2 UNG 4, #5 LMU 0
North Georgia found themselves in a jam in the top of the second as the Railsplitters loaded the bases with just one out before Laken Chambers started a 1-2-3 double play to get the Nighthawks out of the jam. UNG responded in the bottom of the third with a two-run bomb from Shelby Hammontree to take a 2-0 lead.

The Nighthawks kept it going in the fourth, plating a run off a Marley Holmes double to right before converting on a sacrifice squeeze by Cheyanne Mosteller to get to the final 4-0 score. LMU loaded the bases two more times late in the game but could not push across a run.

Chambers earned the win, throwing 110 pitches and scattering nine hits.

GAME TWO - #2 UNG 3, #5 LMU 1
North Georgia struck first in the top of the second as Gracie Mixson singled to plate Madi Perry, but the Railsplitters tied it up in the bottom of the frame with a RBI single. It took all the way to the sixth inning for either team to score again as Madison Simmons homered to center field to plate the final two runs of the game.

A groundout to Perry after a fourth double play of the day gave UNG the Southeast Regional crown and a chance to compete for the national title.

Chambers (14-0) tossed 95 more pitches in the second game, allowing just the one run across the complete game.

NOTES
- North Georgia will head to the national finals for the sixth time in program history, including 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2018.

- Perry went 4-for-5 on the day, including a 3-for-3 performance in the championship game.

NEXT UP
North Georgia will head to Denver, Colorado, to compete for the national title. Game times, seedings and opponents will be announced in the coming days.