Softball team wins national title

The University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team would not be denied in its pursuit of a national championship. Powered by a rally in the first game and a dominant performance in the second contest, the Nighthawks secured the program's second national title with 7-3 and 3-0 victories against Grand Valley State University in the NCAA Division II championship series May 30-31 at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Even a 3-1 loss to University of Texas Tyler in the first of two games in the semifinal round May 28 was simply a minor speed bump before a 2-0 win against UT Tyler later that day punched UNG's ticket to the best-of-three championship series.

The Nighthawks' pitching depth — powered by starters Tybee Denton and Kristen Davis and reliever Sophie Mooney — proved to be a major factor in the final two games against the Lakers, who had their ace Hannah Beatus pitch all 13 innings.

Finishing with a 64-7 record, UNG set a program record for victories, breaking the previous mark of 62 in 2018. This season also marked the Nighthawks' third season in a row reaching at least the national semifinals and fourth time reaching the NCAA championship since its previous national title in 2015.

Head coach Mike Davenport now has 1,042 career victories in 23 seasons with UNG. His teams have reached the NCAA championship eight out of the 15 seasons they have been eligible after transitioning from NAIA.

Mooney, who went 11-for-19 with six RBIs and earned a pitching win in Chattanooga, was named Most Outstanding Player.

UNG rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the first game against Grand Valley State with five two-out runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from Mariah Wicker, a two-run triple by Sydney Blair and an RBI single by Olivia Sinquefield, who also drove in the Nighthawks' first two runs.

In the finale, Mooney's RBI single gave UNG the lead for good in the third inning. An RBI groundout from Blair and a run by Sinquefield when she slid under the tag at home after an attempted rundown following a wild pitch on a strikeout by Wicker, who reached second on the play, in the fourth pushed it to a 3-0 advantage.

UNG opened the eight-team NCAA championship with two victories, 6-2 against East Stroudsburg University on May 25 and 6-3 against University of Central Oklahoma on May 26.

Denton and Davis each had two pitching wins during the NCAA championship.

The Nighthawks put together their historic season with a roster including one senior, Sinquefield.