DAHLONEGA – The No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team advanced to the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Softball Tournament semifinals Saturday after a 1-0 win against USC Beaufort (USCB) at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park. 

The top-seeded Nighthawks took down the eighth-seeded Sand Sharks in their lowest scoring win of the season. UNG was previously 0-4 this year when scoring 1 or fewer runs. 

However, senior pitcher Angelina Badalament kept USCB at bay with a stellar performance to secure the first postseason win of 2025 for the Nighthawks.

The Plant City, Fla. native twirled six complete innings, allowing just six hits and one walk while striking out four Sand Shark hitters in her milestone 20th victory of the season. 

Badalament picked up the win after putting on an impressive display of grit as she pitched out of numerous jams in the game.

In the second inning, the right-handed pitcher conceded a base hit to each of the first two hitters of the frame. She then kept USCB scoreless with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to end the inning. 

In the third, a lead-off single was negated by another strikeout and consecutive groundouts as the game remained tied at 0-0.

That score did not hold for long as junior outfielder Natalie Ray drilled her 14th home run of the season over the right field wall. The solo shot gave the Nighthawks the only run they would need to advance to the semifinal round of the tournament.

After Ray's blast, Badalament resumed her domination in the circle. She stranded another runner in the fourth inning before facing her toughest challenge yet in the fifth.

With two outs in the top of the frame, the Sand Sharks put together a rally as three straight singles loaded the bases. Badalament kept her cool and forced Taelor Chang into a pop up as she left the bases loaded and kept her team in front on the scoreboard. 

Badalament was not out of the woods in the sixth inning either. A hit batter and an error opened the door for USCB once more with runners at second and third with only one out. The pitching leader in wins in the PBC then forced MJ Stradinger to bounce out to third base, holding the runners at each bag. Badalament then retired Daryn Miller with her fourth and final strikeout of the day, once more leaving multiple runners on base in the inning.

Maintaining a one-run lead in the seventh, Badalament retired the side in order with three outs in the field. Fittingly, the final out was a soft line drive right back at the circle. Badalament plucked the ball and victory out of thin air after a fine performance to lead her team to the win. Badalament now had four shutout appearances on the season. 

The Nighthawks advanced to the PBC Tournament semifinals after the win and began an afternoon showdown with fifth-seeded Lander. 

With a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, the game was halted due to inclement weather in the northeast Georgia area. The game is set to resume Sunday, May 4 at 1:00 p.m. from Dahlonega. 

The winner between the Nighthawks and Bearcats will advance to the 2025 PBC Tournament Championship to face seventh-seeded Georgia Southwestern. That game will take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of the second semifinal matchup.