DENVER - Down 3-0 through four complete, the University of North Georgia softball team's bats finally came alive as they eliminated No. 9 Valdosta State Friday, 8-4, at the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball Championship.

The Blazers got on the board in the first inning, taking advantage of a Nighthawk error to hit a two-run homer. VSU scored again in the fourth on a solo homer to take a 3-0 lead. North Georgia finally answered in the fifth, scoring their first two runs of the tournament on a Madison Simmons bomb to left field.

The Nighthawks took the lead in the sixth, loading the bases and pushing across a run on a Blazer error and two more on a Kaylyn Anthony single through the left side to make the score 5-3. North Georgia scored three more in the seventh on another Blazer error and a Shelby Hammontree RBI single to left. VSU scored one off a solo homer in the bottom of the frame, but that was all they could get.

NOTES
- Tybee Denton (4-3) earned the win in relief, allowing just one run off two hits over three innings of work.

- Valdosta State committed five errors in the game, leading to all eight runs being unearned.

- Madi Perry was 3-for-4 in the game to lead the way for UNG at the plate.

NEXT UP
North Georgia will play in another elimination game tomorrow at 1 p.m. EDT against No. 18 Saint Anselm.