DAHLONEGA – On an exciting Senior Day in which 10 Nighthawk players competed in their final regular season game at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park, the No. 2 University of North Georgia softball team dominated Georgia College & State University in an 11-3, five inning victory.

After already clinching his 10th consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular season title the day prior against the Bobcats, head coach Mike Davenport began celebrating his seniors by starting all 10 of them on Sunday.

The usual suspects found their regular spot in the lineup as seniors Mallory Parker and Mariah Wicker were placed in outfield while Gracie Mixson locked down the hot corner at third base. The senior battery of pitcher Tybee Denton and catcher Georgia Blair came as no surprise to anyone. 

First baseman Sophie Mooney started on the infield and in the four hole of the lineup despite missing the last five games due to injury. Madison Simmons was selected as the starting right fielder after subbing into the contests on Saturday. 

Then, the remaining three seniors, despite all being pitchers, still found themselves in the lineup. Delaney Heaberlin and Kristen Davis worked as the double play combination up the middle at shortstop and second base respectively, while Aniston Wright earned a number of at bats as the designated player in the lineup.

The game started the wrong way as Georgia College got on the board first with an RBI double from senior first baseman Jessica Owens in the top of the first.

However, the Nighthawks celebrated their seniors in the bottom of the inning in the most fitting way.

A senior day is only celebrated properly by key moments that highlight the players that have dedicated their careers to the university they call home. UNG had its moment in the first inning.

While trailing 1-0, Parker and Blair walked to bring Mooney to the plate. 

After an All-American season last year to lead the Nighthawks to a second National Championship, Mooney has struggled to find consistency this year, battling a number of injuries in her senior campaign. 

Having missed the last five games with a leg injury, she stepped up to bat on Sunday hoping to just do something that would contribute to her team. She did that in spades on the second pitch of the at bat. 

Mooney got out in front of a fastball and as if it was in a hurry to leave the ballpark, the ball jumped off her bat and over the left field wall on a line. If you blinked you would've missed its short journey from home plate to the terrace beyond left field. Mooney nursed her leg injury with a slow trot around the bases as her teammates bounded out of the dugout to celebrate her fourth home run of the year and a 3-1 lead.

A few more walks brought up sophomore first baseman Marycille Brumby to pinch hit for Davis. Brumby has seen increased playing time at first while Mooney gets healthy from her injuries. In that time, Brumby has been a major contributor on offense for UNG and she showed just why against the Bobcats.

In the first inning, she made it a 5-1 ball game with a two run double down the right field line, bringing home her 17th and 18t RBIs of the season. 

In the next inning, it was Blair showing off her power in the lead off spot of the frame as she torched her 11th home run of the season. The solo shot was the lone run scored for the Nighthawks in the second inning.

The Bobcats got a run back in the third on a home run from freshman catcher Karlie Gutierrez, her 11th of the year and third of the series. 

UNG then broke the game wide open in the bottom of the frame. Simmons got it started with an RBI double on the ground to left center to score Brumby. She was then brought around on a single from Blair, making it 8-2. Then sophomore second baseman Tagen Levao-Maisonet looped a single into shallow right center to score two runs. 

Eyeing a run rule loss, the Bobcats got back within the eight-run margin in the top of the fourth with an RBI single from Owens again. 

But in the home half of the fourth, Simmons came through again for her second RBI of the day, batting home Brumby once more on a single through the left side, making it 11-3. 

In Georgia College's last chance to add to the scoreboard in the top of the fifth, Wright, who had taken over in the circle for Denton in the third inning, ended the game with her second strikeout of the outing to seal the win for the Nighthawks. 

With three regular season games left on the road at Lander, UNG's Senior Day did not represent the final home game for the 10 women who were honored after Sunday's win. 

With the PBC Tournament coming to Dahlonega next weekend and the NCAA Southeast Regional likely on the way as the Nighthawks are the No. 2 team in the country and top ranked squad in the region, the seniors will get their last go round at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium in the coming weeks. 

For now, their three-game road trip to Lander starts with a Saturday double header in Greenwood, S.C. at 12 p.m. on Apr. 20.