AUGUSTA — The University of North Georgia softball team has been tabbed the team to beat in a Peach Belt Conference preseason softball coaches' poll, the league announced on Thursday. The Nighthawks received eight first-place votes out of a possible 12 and 140 total points, edging out Armstrong State in second place. UNG will be seeking its fourth consecutive Peach Belt Conference championship in 2017, which if achieved would tie the conference record held by Kennesaw State, who won back-to-back-to-back-to-back titles in 1995, '96, '97, and '98.
Also announced this week, North Georgia checked in at No. 8 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 preseason poll. The Nighthawks are tied in the poll with the University of Charleston. Defending national champion, North Alabama leads the poll with conference-foe Armstrong State ranked third.
The PBC continued its dominance in the Southeast Region last year with three teams reaching the 40-win mark, including UNG's 54-8 record, the best in the region. Armstrong State ultimately advanced to the NCAA DII Championship after a drama-filled Super Regional in Dahlonega last May.
North Georgia's non-conference schedule will look quite similar to the 2016 slate that features an incredibly challenging opening weekend at the Gulf Coast Invitational playing six games with two Top 25 matchups, including the season opener against No. 23 Alabama-Huntsville. UNG will open up its home slate with the 2017 Steak 'n Shake Classic at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium on Feb. 10 - 12, featuring Palm Beach Atlantic, McKendree, Mar's Hill, and West Georgia.
The Nighthawks will play their first true road game of the year at Shorter in a rematch of the 2015 NCAA DII Championship semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 14. North Georgia will return home that weekend for the annual Captain D's Classic with this year's participants including Seton Hill and Shepherd. UNG travels to Orlando the following weekend where the Nighthawks will find another ranked opponent in No. 17 Saint Leo.
UNG will open conference play in a rematch of last year's heated Super Regional, hosting No. 3 Armstrong State at Hill Stadium on March 5. Following the potential Top 10 showdown, the Nighthawks will go 26 days without a home game traveling to Montevallo, Flagler, UNC Pembroke, Francis Marion, Georgia College, and Augusta before returning home on April 1 to host USC Aiken on Operation Nighthawks of Honor Day.
North Georgia will host seven twin bills from April 1 - 15, wrapping up the season with an impressive 14-game home stand that features USC Aiken, Lander, Belmont Abbey, Young Harris, Union (Tenn.), Georgia Southwestern, and Columbus State.
The Peach Belt Conference Tournament will be hosted by Georgia College in Milledgeville for the third straight year, although you won't hear any complaints from the Nighthawks as UNG has gone 6-0 at the tournament in Georgia's Lake Country over the past two years, outscoring opponents a combined 34-6 in those six games on the way to claiming the last two tournament crowns.
The 2017 season gets underway in just over a week with first pitch coming on Friday, Feb. 3 at 1:30 p.m. CST, as North Georgia faces No. 23 Alabama-Huntsville in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
