DAHLONEGA – After suffering a 2-1, nine-inning loss to third-seeded and No. 19 Francis Marion on Friday, the No. 8 University of North Georgia softball team needed three consecutive wins in order to advance to the 2024 NCAA Softball Southeast Super Regionals. After a 9-0 win over seventh-seeded Flagler on Friday, the Nighthawks got another chance at FMU Saturday. 

A 7-3 win in the day's first game preceded a 5-0 win in game two, sending UNG to its fourth consecutive Super Regional appearance. 

After fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne took down top-seeded Wingate in the Southeast Region 1 Tournament on Saturday, the Nighthawks stand as the highest remaining seed in the Southeast Regional and will host the Super Regional rounds on Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15. 

The best-of-three series begins at 12 p.m. on Tuesday with game two following at 12 p.m. on Wednesday and the "if necessary" third game scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as well. 

UNG and LR have already seen each other this year, back in February during the North Georgia Leadoff Classic. The teams split their two meetings as the Bears took the first game 2-1 and the Nighthawks won the second game 6-0. 

Game 1: Nighthawks def. Patriots, 7-3

With the way sophomore left-hander Alyssa Poston pitched in Friday's matchup against UNG, tensions were high entering Saturday's first contest as Poston was slated to start in the circle again for FMU. 

Poston allowed 10 hits and just one run over nine innings in her victory on Friday while striking out four batters and walking zero. 

As the home team in the opener on Saturday, Poston pitched first against the Nighthawk lineup. In the top of the first, UNG matched its run total from Friday against the ace with one swing of the bat from senior center fielder Mallory Parker. 

With two outs, Parker crushed a ball to right center field. She gave the Nighthawks a 1-0 lead as it sailed over the wall, representing her eighth homer of the year and second in postseason play. 

In a similar fashion to Friday's game, UNG's early 1-0 lead remained as both offenses went cold early in the game. That is until senior right fielder Madison Simmons stepped up for her second at bat of the day in the fourth inning. 

Simmons demolished her third home run of the season which also represented her second of the regional, doubling the lead at 2-0. 

Then in the fifth inning, the Nighthawks blew the doors open, bringing home five runs in the frame, all of which came with two outs. 

Senior catcher Georgia Blair got the rally started with a rocket double to left field. Parker then followed with her second home run of the day, only this one didn't leave the yard. As she skied a fly ball to right field, it caromed off the wall, giving her time to head to third base after Blair had already scored. The throw to third got away from FMU third baseman Madalyn White and skipped out of play, sending Parker home to make it a 4-0 ball game.

As Patriots head coach Stacy Vallee pulled Poston from the game, UNG had accomplished something it wasn't sure it could do after Friday's game; get to FMU's ace. 

Sophomore first baseman Marycille Brumby kept the inning alive after the pitching switch, reaching on a costly error from Patriot second baseman Peyton Gale. Simmons was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Back-to-back walks to redshirt freshman Tagen Levao-Maisonet and junior shortstop Rylie Moody brought in another run. 

Then, junior infielder Grayson Perry got a pinch-hit opportunity with the bases still loaded. She placed a routine ground ball towards second base where Gale booted it again, allowing Simmons and Levao-Maisonet to score a pair of unearned runs. 

FMU made things interesting in the bottom of the inning after first baseman Taylor Watford hit a three-run home run, cutting the deficit to four runs at 7-3. 

Senior pitcher Kristen Davis, who diced up the Patriots the day prior despite the loss, responded to allowing the homer by getting a one-two-three inning that included a pair of strikeouts in the sixth. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Davis was backed up by an unbelievable defensive play from her teammates behind her. After speedy FMU shortstop Makayla Cuthbertson got the inning started with a one-out single in the nine hole, third baseman Madalyn White followed with another single. 

The overly aggressive Cuthbertson hit the bag at second and headed for third base. Senior outfielder Mariah Wicker scooped the ball in right field and fired a bullet of a throw to third base. It was at the bag that senior third baseman Gracie Mixson came off the bag to field the throw, caught the ball and applied the tag all in one motion to cut down Cuthbertson for the second out. 

A line out in the next at bat ended the game as Davis recorded her 19th win of the season after going seven complete innings with three runs on eight hits and five strikeouts. 

Game 2: Nighthawks def. Patriots, 5-0

In the decisive game of the Southeast Region 2 Tournament, UNG won the coin toss and took home field advantage. 

Head coach Mike Davenport sent out his PBC Pitcher of the Year in senior Tybee Denton to start the game while Vallee and FMU went away from Poston and chose Jenna Walling to start in the circle.

Denton allowed a one-out single to Cuthbertson in the second at bat of the game. She would not allow another hit until Cuthbertson came up again in the sixth inning. 

In the meantime, the UNG offense got on the board first in the second inning. Brumby led the inning off with a walk and with one out, Levao-Maisonet pasted a double to the right center field gap, bringing Brumby home. 

Holding a 1-0 lead, the bottom of the fourth inning began with three straight singles for the Nighthawks from Simmons, Levao-Maisonet and Moody. 

Senior infielder Sophie Mooney then got a pinch hit opportunity and was walked to bring in UNG's second run of the game. Then, with two outs, Blair rocked a two-run single to right field, making it 4-0 UNG after four innings. 

Denton struck out two batters in the fifth inning. After five frames the NFCA All-Region pitcher had allowed just three base runners in the game. After Cuthbertson's second single of the game in the sixth, Denton struck out Watford to end the inning.

In the bottom half, UNG added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Perry to score pinch-running sophomore Caroline Branch who filled in for Mixson after she led the inning off with a double. 

A double from Patriot right fielder Katie Smith began the last chance in the seventh inning for FMU. After an out, pinch hitter Emma Moberg took a walk to put a pair of runners on base. Denton then struck out her sixth batter of the day in catcher Kendal Miller. 

The designated player Anderson Thrower stepped up as the last hope to keep the Patriot's season alive. In a 3-2 battle, she lined the ball right back at Denton who dipped down and caught it in the air for the final out. 

The celebration poured out of the dugout and around Denton at the circle. With three straight wins facing elimination, the defending national champions are going back to the Southeast Super Regional for the fourth straight year.