North Georgia softball headed to SE Regional at Lenoir-Rhyne

The University of North Georgia softball team will be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Southeast Regional of the 2013 NCAA Division II National Tournament and will travel to Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. as announced by the NCAA office on Monday.

The Hickory Regional will take place May 10-12 and will be played along side the Savannah Regional played at Armstrong Atlantic State University.

North Georgia enters their sixth straight NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid after falling in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament to the University of South Carolina-Aiken in the tournament 5-2. Receiving the automatic bids as conference champions to the Southeast Regional were Columbus State (PBC), Mount Olive (Conference Carolinas) and Lenoir-Rhyne (South Atlantic Conference).

The Saints (36-12) will be joined at the Hickory Regional by the nationally ranked No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (35-14), the Anderson University Trojans (32-12) and the nationally ranked No. 25 Georgia College Bobcats (36-15). The Bears will be the No. 2 seed in the regional, while the Trojans and Bobcats with be the sixth and seventh seeds, respectively.

In the Savannah Regional, nationally ranked No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates (36-7-1) will be joined by the nationally ranked No. 16 Columbus State Cougars (39-16), the Mount Olive College Trojans (34-13) and the Wingate University Bulldogs (32-20-1).

North Georgia will play Anderson in the first matchup of the Hickory Regional on Friday, May 10 at 2 p.m. The Saints lead the all-time series against the Trojans 20-2 with the most recent matchup coming on March 28, 2006, when the Saints took a season sweep of Anderson with a 19-7 win. Host Lenoir-Rhyne will take on Georgia College in the day's second game at 4:30 p.m.

The tournament will be in a double-elimination format with the winner of the Hickory Regional advancing to play the winner of the Savannah Regional starting May 17 in the Southeast Super Regional. The Super Regional will be hosted at the highest remaining seed in the tournament. The winner of the Super Regional will advance to the DII College World Series on May 23 in Salem, Virginia.

Tickets will be $7 each day and $4 for children 12 and under and students with proper identification.