After a rollercoaster ride of a weekend, the No. 2 UNG Softball team battled back from the loser’s side of the bracket to win the Southeast Regional Tournament and claim a spot among the final eight teams in the nation at the NCAA Division II Softball Championship in Denver.
“This last week was a huge challenge for our team and our program,” said head coach Mike Davenport. “We faced some adversity within the tournament that was out of everyone’s control and continued to fight for each other after dropping Friday’s game to a great LMU team. Facing basically three elimination games beginning Friday night and into Saturday against two Top 10 teams in the nation was a huge undertaking and accomplishment for this team to advance to Denver, Colorado. It is a testament to our players character and love for each other.”
That adversity came after the Nighthawks opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over Anderson University on Thursday, which set up a showdown with No. 5 Lincoln Memorial University on Friday.
The Nighthawks woke up Friday to devastating news, discovering they would be without starting shortstop Margaret Simmons, who leads the team in hits, runs, home runs, RBI, total bases and batting average.
Upon hearing the news, UNG dropped their game against LMU 5-3, forcing the Nighthawks into the loser’s bracket and another game against their rivals from Young Harris, who were ranked No. 8 in the nation.
With their backs against the wall, Davenport recounts the season-saving efforts of two of his players.
“When you compete in the postseason you always find that one player, or two players that step their game up to a level that helps the team reach new heights,” he said. “With the level of competition in the NCAA Southeast Regional, it was important for someone on our team to do just that and we not only had one, but two players that elevated their game to meet the level of the moment. I am proud of what Laken Chambers was able to do with the ball in the pitching circle which is a testament to her abilities as a pitcher, but also to her toughness as an athlete. And we also got a huge performance by shortstop Madison Perry who filled a void that not many thought would be able to be filled, [replacing Simmons]. She gave us energy at the plate and on the bases and played an unbelievable shortstop for us on Friday and Saturday.”
Behind a dominant performance in the circle from Chambers, who came on in relief, and Perry among others at the plate, the Nighthawks pulled off a 5-3 win of their own, eliminating the Mountain Lions and sending North Georgia into Championship Saturday for a rematch against LMU.
Since the tournament was double elimination, UNG had to avenge its previous loss to LMU twice in order to keep its season alive. Instead of going back to one of the most dominant pitchers in all of Division II and the Nighthawks’ usual ace Kylee Smith, Davenport continued rolling with the hot hand, putting his confidence in Chambers in the season’s biggest game.
“Kylee had given us everything she could at that point in the tournament which she always does,” Davenport said. “Going to Laken or Tybee [Denton] or Abbie [Crawford] was something we knew we would have to do and those three have worked hard for this opportunity to have their moment...Laken may be one of the most underrated pitchers not only in the region but in the country. She is currently 14-0 with a 0.60 ERA, but has not received the recognition she deserves, but true to her character that does not affect her nor does it define her. She is a consummate teammate and does whatever the team needs her to do.”
Behind the stellar pitching of Chambers, who allowed only one run on the day across both games and totalling 205 pitches, and the timely hitting the Nighthawks have become known for, North Georgia claimed a 4-0 win, forcing a winner-take-all Game 2.
After both teams put one run each across in the first frame, a sixth inning two-run home run by Madison Simmons gave the Nighthawks the lead for the final time, allowing them to clinch a trip to the National Championship an inning later.
The win sends North Georgia to the finals for the sixth time in program history, after making the trip in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2018.
“We are excited about the opportunity to take this Team to Denver and the National Championships,” Davenport said. “We felt last summer when Kylee [Smith], Kaylyn [Anthony], and Shelby [Hammontree] committed to return for one final season as well as the incoming class we were bringing in that we had a lot of the pieces to potentially compete at the highest level.”
Smith, Anthony and Hammontree were all key contributors to the 2018 team that made it to the Softball Championships in Salem, Virginia. Chambers also made the trip as a freshman, however did not appear in game action in the championships. Davenport said he’ll be leaning on that experience heavily during this go around.
“I think with Kylee, Kaylyn, Shelby, and Laken being the leaders of this team and also having National Tournament experience will be a source of support for our other players to lean on. When they walked off the fields in Salem, Virginia in 2018 they were determined to get this program back to that level and with the additional years of experience they now have should help us handle the stage of the National Championships.”
Davenport feels that between the experience his players have gained and the adversity his team has faced and overcome, his team is finally ready for this final stage.
“Without a doubt this was the most challenging season in our program’s history,” he said. “For our returning players they understand our thoughts on focusing on each season-within-a-season but this year it went in a totally different direction. It really felt like with the multiple starts and stops we had to almost reinvent ourselves every three to four weeks. And this team did a great job of doing such a thing by focusing on only what lied directly in front of us. With that said, we have one final season to play the game we love so much together...and it happens to be in Denver, Colorado.”
North Georgia enters the final eight as the No. 4 seed and are set to face off with No. 5 seed Biola University, who comes into the game ranked No. 24.
The two will match up on Thursday, May 27 at 3:30 p.m.
All games of the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball Championship will be streamed on NCAA.com.