North Georgia softball looking to book another CWS spot

DAHLONEGA -- For most collegiate softball teams, a 50-9 record would be cause for celebration.

Things are a little different in Dahlonega.

Despite storming through much of the season and playing their way into position for a third straight College World Series berth, one member of the Lady Saints softball team recently had a classmate ask her this:

"A guy looked at me and said, 'what's happened to y'all?' " senior infielder Kayla Martin said. "We're 50-9 and people think we're having a down year."

Misguided though it may be, it's a question fostered by the kind of winning North Georgia has experienced over the past few seasons, as the Lady Saints have become one of the top programs in all of NCAA Division II.

North Georgia has been ranked in the Division II top 25 for 29 straight weeks and has reached the College World Series in back-to-back seasons -- including going 51-0 at one point in 2010. And this weekend, the Lady Saints hope to get back to the World Series for a third straight campaign, as they face Lenoir-Rhyne in a best-of-three Super Regional at North Georgia's Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium in Dahlonega.

"It's no fluke we're sitting in this position again," Lady Saints coach Mike Davenport said. "The players have done everything we've asked of them and worked extremely hard this season. The real challenge this year has been in meeting expectations. Success breeds expectations."

It didn't matter that the Lady Saints lost four key seniors from last year's record-setting squad. Returning team members, as well as several incoming freshmen, expected to continue the impetus put in motion by previous North Georgia squads.

"We are what we are now because of how people in the past have played for this team," said Martin. "We wanted to carry on that legacy, and when we leave, we hope that the next group feels the same way."

Fresh-faced team members such as Jessica Coan understood the standards even before the 2011 season commenced.

"The program's expectations are high," said Coan, a junior transfer from Georgia Tech. "And I think we've met them and shown we're here to play."

Coan certainly showed up ready to play. The right-handed hurler leads the team in wins (26-4), ERA (0.77) and strikeouts (309).

"It was a little intimidating at first coming in here, but the girls have all been really accepting," said Coan, a Greater Atlanta Christian School graduate.

That inclusiveness has also been a big key to North Georgia's success this season.

"This is one of the closest teams I've ever been on," said Martin, a North Forsyth High graduate. "We all feel like we've known each other forever -- even those girls that are new to the team. We've all just meshed."

Indeed, the Lady Saints are in top 20 in three categories of all of the NCAA statistics, posting the fourth best ERA in the nation, eighth best win/loss percentage and 16th best fielding percentage.

"Having that defense behind you really takes the pressure off you as a pitcher," Coan said of a defense that sports a .971 fielding percentage. "You're not afraid to let a batter hit a ground ball or a pop up, and that's huge."

Offensively, the 2011 Lady Saints are a much younger but no less potent squad than last season, outscoring opponents 330-94 while featuring two freshmen amongst the first three spots in the batting order.

"Some of our veterans came back, like Kayla, and picked up the slack," Davenport said. "But we've also had some freshmen step up like Ansley Williams and Sarah Johnson."

Williams features in the leadoff spot and is batting .345 with 67 hits (second on the team) and 62 runs scored (team-high). Meanwhile, Johnson is batting .301 with seven doubles and 21 RBIs. Senior Kasey Knight paces the squad with a .361 average and 75 hits; she's also fourth in RBIs (31). Junior Hilary Cox is second with a .356 average and tops with 44 RBIs.

"This team has formed its own identity for sure," Davenport said. "They've got a great balance, and their personality is very business-like. We don't expect to go out and win every game, but we do expect to go out and give it everything we've got every game and let the chips fall where they may."

For much of the season, those chips have fallen on the winning side, but when playing in a tough conference like the Peach Belt -- and against an equally tough non-conference slate -- there have been a few losses along the way. (Six of North Georgia's nine defeats came against ranked opponents.)

"We put the kids through the ringer season," Davenport said. "But that's our philosophy. We do it to get us ready for this time of the season."

The plan has worked accordingly, as the Lady Saints learned from each defeat.

"Each of those losses has just made us stronger," Coan said.

And, when you've been in North Georgia's position over the past few seasons, every team is looking to test itself against a proven winner. It was a point driven home early in the season when, after the Lady Saints fell to top-20 program Arkansas-Monticello, coach Davenport talked with the opposing coaches.

"After the game they said, 'coach, you're the one everyone is trying to beat,' " Davenport said.

It was a nice compliment, but the Lady Saints are far from satisfied.

"You're always chasing, you always want to be on top," Davenport said. "What this program has accomplished is incredible, and it's a tribute to all the players who have come through here."

This weekend, the Lady Saints hope to take another step toward catching that No. 1 spot -- though they say that is by no means a sure thing against a tough Lenoir-Rhyne team that North Georgia swept out of the 2010 Super Regionals. (The Lady Saints also defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 2-0 in their only meeting this season.)

"It's a rematch from last year, and they're going to want it as bad as we do," Martin said. "We just have to play the best we can and see what happens."

-- NOTE: Play in the Super Regional begins at 6 p.m. Friday in Dahlonega, with Game 2 scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. ... Fans are being asked to wear white this weekend for a "white out." ... Should North Georgia prevail over Lenoir-Rhyne this weekend, the Lady Saints would begin play in the College World Series on Thursday in Salem, Va.