DAHLONEGA – For the sixth-consecutive season, the No. 3 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional with a pair of wins over Lander, 15-6 and 5-0, in the Southeast Regional Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
After dropping their first game of the regional tournament to Lincoln Memorial on Thursday, the Nighthawks (49-9, 22-5 PBC) needed to win four-straight games to keep their 2026 season alive. With their backs against the wall, North Georgia avoided elimination with two wins yesterday and fought through two more against the Bearcats today to stay in the dance.
Game One: North Georgia 15, Lander 6 (6 Inn.)
The first game against Lander started with a statement from The Nighthawks. First pitch of the ballgame, Sydnee Reaves crushed a home run over the wall in right field to give North Georgia the earliest possible 1-0 lead.
The fireworks continued in Carleigh Knowles' first at bat, as she blasted her own first-pitch homer to centerfield to double the North Georgia lead.
Kayla Berry kept the foot on the gas with an RBI single to pay off a Morgan Martin double to extend the lead to three.
With two on, Ava Lunsford joined the home run party, sending her second long bomb of the season to the second level of the 52 West Left Field Landing. The Nighthawks left the top of the first with a sizeable 6-0 advantage.
Lander quickly answered with a three-run homer of their own, cutting the Nighthawks' lead in half.
The 6-3 score remained unchanged, as Chloe Poss settled in and kept the Lander bats in check.
The Nighthawks found some insurance in the fourth, courtesy of another big swing from Reaves. The Ashland, Ala. native left Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium once again with another solo shot to centerfield to build the lead to four. The homer served as Reaves' 20th of the season; the second most in a single season in program history.
After the Bearcat bats could not chip away at the lead in the bottom frame, North Georgia capitalized with a four-run fifth inning to move further in front. A Journey Roberts sacrifice fly to centerfield and an RBI single from Jenna Miles built the lead to six. Knowles and Marycille Brumby tacked on two more with a pair of bases-loaded walks to cushion the lead 11-3.
Lander stole a run back with an RBI single to cut into the lead, but the Nighthawks had an answer in the sixth. North Georgia blitzed the Bearcats with another four-run inning to put themselves firmly in the driver's seat.
Berry got the scoring started in the inning by capitalizing on a Bearcat error, and Reaves kept things moving with an RBI groundout to make it a ten-run lead. An RBI double from Jenna Miles to plate Kaitlyn Johnson put the fifteenth run on the board for the Nighthawks, who found themselves in run-rule territory.
The Bearcats connected on a two-run homer in the sixth to try and mount a comeback, but it would not be enough, as the Nighthawks picked up the final out in the mercy-rule victory to force a winner-take-all game.
Poss earned her 25th win of her senior season, tossing six innings in the circle with three strikeouts while surrendering eight hits and six runs in another solid outing from the Nighthawks' NFCA All-Southeast Region pitcher.
Miles put together one of her best offensive performances of the year, finishing 3-4 with a walk and two RBI.
Game Two: North Georgia 5, Lander 0
In a win-or-go-home game, the defense and pitching were dialed in early. The Nighthawks and Bearcats were able to get traffic on the bases in the first two innings, but Caroline Conner and Payton Schurlknight were able to work out of multiple tough situations to keep the game scoreless.
The Nighthawks broke through in the third, as Martin sent Knowles home with an RBI single to the gap in left center field to take the lead.
Conner capitalized the next few innings, forcing the Bearcats into soft contact and recording a handful of strikeouts to keep Lander off the board and protect the lead.
North Georgia found some breathing room in the sixth. In a two-out rally, Reaves connected on an RBI single to double her team's lead 2-0.
With the score still too close for comfort for the Nighthawks, they got their biggest swing of the ballgame in the seventh from Martin. After a single from Knowles and a walk from Brumby, the junior shortstop crushed her fourteenth homer of the year to extend the lead. The Nighthawk faithful erupted, watching the ball soar over the wall in left field and the lead extend to 5-0.
As the away team in this game, the Nighthawks and Conner needed to take care of business in the bottom of the seventh to stay alive. They did just that, as Conner used a strikeout looking, a groundout to Miles and flyout to Reaves to pick up the final three outs and punch North Georgia's ticket to the Super Regional.
Conner once again rose to the occasion in the postseason, securing her 12th win of the year in one of her most impressive performances in a Nighthawk uniform. The Social Circle, Ga. native pitched a complete game shutout while tying her season high with six strikeouts.
Knowles and Martin led the efforts at the plate with three hits each, while Martin accounted for four of the five Nighthawk RBI in the victory.
The Nighthawks now have their eyes set on hosting the NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional. They will take on the No. 2 seed Francis Marion in a best of three series, starting on Thursday, Mar. 21 at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium. Game times will be announced at a later date.
