DAHLONEGA — The No. 8 University of North Georgia softball team rallied in the 2024 NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament last weekend to make its return to the Super Regionals. After fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne took down top-seeded Wingate, the second-seeded Nighthawks stand as the highest remaining seed and will host a three-game series against the Bears Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15 at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
The Nighthawks are back in the Super Regionals for a fourth consecutive season after facing elimination in three straight games last weekend in the regional rounds.
After a win over seventh-seeded Flagler in its first game, UNG went against third-seeded Francis Marion and its tough sophomore pitcher in Alyssa Poston. The lefty limited the Nighthawks to just one run on 10 hits as FMU pulled out an extra-inning victory in nine innings. UNG then took down Flagler 9-0 (5 Inn.) in an elimination game on Friday, giving itself another shot at the Patriots on Saturday.
Needing to defeat FMU twice, the Nighthawks hit a pair of home runs against Poston in Saturday's first game, emerging victorious by a 7-3 to score to force a decisive seventh game of the regional. It was in that seventh game that senior pitcher Tybee Denton pitched a complete game shutout while only allowing three hits and striking out six batters as UNG took home the 5-0 win.
In 3 tournament appearances in the circle, Denton has yet to allow an earned run. Her shutout of the Patriots on Saturday marked her 12th such performance of the season, third most of any pitcher in the nation.
At the plate, senior center fielder Mallory Parker had a massive weekend in the regionals for the Nighthawks. With six hits in 16 at bats, Parker hit .375 at the plate over the weekend. Against FMU on Saturday, Parker tallied two RBI and scored twice after a big day at the plate. She sparked the offense with a two-out, solo home run in the first inning. She then rocketed a ball to right field, scoring a run. As she ran for third, the throw got away, allowing Parker to score and fire up the offense. Parker's 11 total bases collected on the weekend rank eighth among all hitters in the tournament thus far.
After a wild regional weekend in which the Bears went to extra innings with top-seeded Wingate twice in their three matchups, Lenoir-Rhyne is back in the Super Regionals for the third time in program history and the first time since 2011.
The Bears, ranked No. 22 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Assocation (NFCA), held off the No. 7 Bulldogs in a decisive seventh game of the regional on Wingate's turf. After Wingate tied the game down to its last out in the seventh, a bases-loaded bloop single in the bottom of the eighth led to the walk off win for LR.
The Bears have found their way as one of just 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament after a 48-15 record thus far. They've only lost twice in their last 11 games, the first of which came in the opening contest of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Also in that span, a shocking seven of LR's nine wins have come by a single run and four of those games went into extra innings.
The Bears are led by their legendary head coach Shena Hollar who has been with the program for a quarter of a century. She's compiled 1,019 career wins in her 27-year career, 974 of which have come with LR. Her 48 wins this season are the most since her team met that same mark in 2016 before being bounced in the regionals.
Between the lines the Bears lean on NFCA All-Region selections Julia Mardigian and Lauren Rakes. Mardigian currently ranks No. 2 in the nation in doubles (28) and hits (97) and ranks third in total bases (164). Having struck out only four times in 225 at bats, she was the second hardest player to strike out in the country this season. Meanwhile, Rakes poses a threat both at the plate and in the circle, leading LR with 15 home runs and a .733 slugging percentage while also leading the Bears in the circle with 200 strikeouts, 169.2 innings pitched and a .221 opponent batting average.
Tuesday's contest will mark the third matchup between the Bears and Nighthawks this season, and their 10th such meeting in the postseason. Beginning back in 2008, UNG and LR have clashed a number of times with their seasons on the line. In the previous nine postseason matchups, the Nighthawks hold a 7-2 record over the Bears. Most recently, the two teams met in the 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional in which UNG traveled to Hickory, N.C. and skunked the host Bears 10-0. The Nighthawks would advance to the Division II Championships in Denver, Colo. that year. This year, the series winner will head to the 2024 NCAA Division II Softball Championships May 19-25 in Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, Fla. as part of the 2024 NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival.
