The University of North Georgia softball team has earned the top seed and will host the 2016 NCAA Regional this coming weekend, as the national office announced Monday morning on a live selection show on NCAA.com. The Dahlonega Regional will take place on May 5-7 at UNG's Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium. The NCAA postseason appearance is the ninth consecutive for the Nighthawks and marks the seventh time the team has hosted a NCAA regional in the past eight seasons.
Currently ranked fifth in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NCAA Division II poll, UNG has a record of 50-6 and stands atop the final Southeast regional poll.
Traveling to Dahlonega this week will also be fourth-seeded Catawba, fifth-seeded Georgia College and eighth-seeded Young Harris. All four teams in the Dahlonega Regional have been ranked in the NFCA DII Top 25 poll at some point this season, with Catawba, Georgia College, and North Georgia all cracking the Top 10.
Catawba will represent the South Atlantic Conference after earning the league's automatic bid by defeating Lenoir-Rhyne in the conference tournament title game. The Indians enter the tournament at 38-14 on the season. The Nighthawks shutout Catawba in their only regular season meeting, 7-0, at the Mid-South Classic.
Georgia College earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing fourth in the Peach Belt Conference standings. The Bobcats were the only team in the PBC to earn a victory against North Georgia this season and enter the tournament with an overall record of 39-16. This is Georgia College's second consecutive year making a postseason appearance in Dahlonega, after facing the Nighthawks in the 2015 NCAA Super Regional.
Young Harris will be making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in the Dahlonega Regional. The Mountain Lions grabbed the final at-large spot with the eighth-seed and a program-best 32-18 record. UNG swept the regular season series in YHC's trip to Hill Stadium last month.
Second-seeded Armstrong State will host the other Southeast Regional in Savannah, Georgia with third-seeded Lenior-Rhyne (47-11), sixth-seeded Pfieffer (37-15), and seventh-seeded USC Aiken (29-20).
The winners of the two Southeast regionals will meet at the highest remaining seed on May 11-12 in a Super Regional with the winner earning a spot in the Division II Championship on May 17-21 at the 2016 NCAA Division II Championship Festival in Denver, Colorado.
The double-elimination tournament will start on Thursday in Dahlonega, with Catawba and Georgia College getting started at 4:00 p.m., followed by the top-seeded Nighthawks and Young Harris at 6:30 p.m.
There will be a total of six games played guaranteed, with the possibility of a seventh if necessary. Tickets will be $8 for adults and $5 for students (17 and under). Students of participating schools can purchase tickets at the student rate with a valid school ID. Children under the age of seven will be admitted free. Tournament passes will also be sold for $20 for adults and $10 for students.
