DAHLONEGA — The top-seed and host University of North Georgia softball team kicked off NCAA Tournament play with a 4-1 victory Thursday over rival-Young Harris. The Nighthawks improve to 51-6 on the season and advance to the winners' bracket game against Catawba at noon Friday.
Katie Block provided what ended up being the game-winning hit with her two-run double off the left field wall that plated the first two runs of the game in the fourth inning. Hannah McSwain would come in to score an unearned run in the next inning on a throwing error by the Young Harris catcher on a failed pickoff attempt to advance the UNG lead to 3-0.
Young Harris loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth but was only able to push across one run on a sacrifice fly to right by Chandler Stooksbury, as Courtney Poole picked up a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat. The Nighthawks answered in the bottom frame of the inning as Alexis Collis provided a RBI single to right center that scored Whitney Worth from third to give the game its final score, 4-1.
NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will face Catawba in game three of the NCAA Southeast Regional tomorrow at Noon. The Indians mounted an impressive late-inning comeback to defeat Georgia College in game one today.
