DENVER - The No. 18 University of North Georgia softball team jumped out to a quick start and kept their feet on the gas as the Nighthawks opened the 2022 NCAA Division II Softball Championship with an 8-2 win over No. 22 Adelphi Thursday afternoon.
UNG wasted no time getting on the board in the top of the first. After a leadoff triple from
Jolie Lester,
Olivia Sinquefield brought her home on a Panther error. Four batters later,
Jaycie Michael went yard, plating three more and giving the visitors on the scoreboard a 4-0 lead.
After Adelphi scored in the second inning, North Georgia got the run right back in the third on a
Gracie Mixson RBI single. Adelphi scored again in the fourth to cut the lead to 5-2, but
Hannah Forehand hit a bomb to left field to get the run back in the fifth.
Madison Simmons and
Mallory Parker finished off the scoring in the sixth inning with back-to-back RBI doubles.
NOTES
- The win in the opening round game snaps a three-game losing skid for UNG in the round. North Georgia is now 4-3 in Division II Softball Championship openers.
- Four Nighthawks had multiple hits.
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Delaney Heaberlin (14-8) got the win, going 6.2 innings and leaving six Panthers stranded.
- In the other games in the opening round, eighth-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills upset top-ranked UT Tyler, 5-1; fifth-seeded Rogers State took down fourth-seeded Southern Indiana, 7-2; and third-seeded AUM was the only home team to win with a 4-0 win over sixth-seeded Seton Hill.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will look for a little revenge against AUM tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. MDT). The winner advances to Sunday, while the loser will play an elimination game Saturday.
