INDIANAPOLIS -- The University of North Georgia softball team has earned the top seed and will host a 2015 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 8-10 at UNG's Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium. The NCAA postseason appearance is the eighth consecutive for the Nighthawks and marks the sixth time the team has hosted a NCAA regional in the past seven seasons.
Currently ranked sixth in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NCAA Division II Poll, UNG has a record of 44-7 and stands atop the final Southeast regional poll.
Traveling to Dahlonega this weekend will also be fourth-seeded Catawba, fifth-seeded Anderson and eighth-seeded Limestone.
Catawba and Anderson will represent the South Atlantic Conference. Catawba earned the league's automatic bid by defeating AU 7-3 in the conference tournament tournament title game. The Indians have won eight consecutive games to push their record to 29-15.
No. 24 Anderson is the Dahlonega regional's lone at-large berth after registering a 39-13 record in 2015. The Trojans had their 11-game winning streak snapped in the title game.
Limestone enters the regional after capturing the automatic bid out of the Conference Carolinas, marking the Saints' first-ever conference championship. Limestone will bring a 28-13 record to Dahlonega.
Second-seeded Georgia College will host the other Southeast Regional in Milledgeville, Georgia with third-seeded Georgia Regents (32-12), sixth-seeded Carson-Newman (35-13), and seventh-seeded Armstrong State (30-14).
The winners of the two Southeast regionals will meet at the highest remaining seed on May 15-16 in a Super Regional with the winner earning a spot in the Division II Championship on May 21-25 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
The double-elimination tournament will start on Friday in Dahlonega, with Catawba and Anderson getting started at 4:00 p.m., to be followed by the host Nighthawks and Limestone 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. Children under the age of seven will be admitted free. Tournament passes will also be sold for $20 for adults and $10 for students.
Fans can find all the updated news including previews, game stories, links to live video and statistics, press conferences and travel information at the 2015 NCAA Dahlonega Regional Website.
