DAHLONEGA – The No. 8 University of North Georgia softball team dominated the Peach Belt Conference Postseason honors this year. The Nighthawks had seven different players earn eight different awards, while head coach Mike Davenport was named PBC Co-Coach of the Year, tallying his tenth coach of the year honor in his career.

Senior Tybee Denton has been the ace in the circle this season for Davenport. With a 1.48 earned run average, she leads the PBC in not only ERA but also complete games (18), games started (26), hits allowed per seven innings (3.9), shutouts (8), strikeouts (175), WHIP (1.1) and wins (23). 

Her 23-2 record places her second nationally among all NCAA Div. II pitchers for wins this season. 

Denton was named as the 2024 Pitcher of the Year presented by College Ave. Student Loans on Thursday. While also being named to the PBC All-Conference First Team as a pitcher, the Homer, Ga. native has now totaled three conference postseason honors in her career. 

Denton is the sixth different UNG pitcher to win the program's 10th Pitcher of the Year award. She's the first Nighthawk to win the award since Kylee Smith in 2021. 

Denton's battery mate, senior catcher Georgia Blair, was also named to the PBC All-Conference First Team as one of two catchers to make the list. Not only has Blair served as a great leader and catcher behind the dish, she's been arguably the best hitter at the plate this season for the Nighthawks.

Hitting a whopping .397 batting average in 50 games this year, Blair ranks fifth in the PBC in the category and leads the league in slugging percentage. She also ranks second in home runs (15) and total bases (113) and third RBI (52). She has dominated the month of April with a whopping 1.802 on base plus slugging percentage (OPS) after belting nine home runs in the month. That includes a four-homer day in a double header against Lander in which Blair blasted three home runs in consecutive at bats in game two. 

Also on the PBC All-Conference First Team for UNG is junior Grayson Perry (designated player), senior Mallory Parker (outfield) and senior Sophie Mooney (at-large).

Perry has had a great year at the plate with a .325 batting average and a .530 slugging percentage. She's launched four home runs this season and has nine extra base hits. Her .325 average currently ranks third on the team. 

Parker has not only been a quality offensive asset, but a stellar defender primarily in center field as well. At the plate she's hitting .368 ranking second on the team. She's also second in offense for UNG in OPS (1.048), runs (32), total bases (77), walks (23), on base percentage (.482) and stolen bases (17). 

Mooney, despite battling the injury bug, has still been a consistent threat in her season following an NCAA Div. II National Championship Most Outstanding Player award last season. While she has yet to meet the minimum requirements (2 plate appearances per game and 75% of games played) for UNG, Mooney's numbers are startling in the time she has taken the field. The senior from Lawrenceville, Ga. is hitting a whopping .441 with a .735 slugging percentage. She has four home runs and team-best 16 doubles to total 21 extra base hits this year. Her 75 total bases ranks third on the team while her perfect record on the base paths (22-for-22 stolen bases) leads the Nighthawks. 

UNG did not stop with the First Team selections. Making the PBC All-Conference Second Team was senior pitcher Kristen Davis along with sophomore second baseman Katie Ward. 

Davis has been in lock step with Denton this year, providing a nasty one-two punch in the circle for opposing offenses to deal with. Davis ranks second in the PBC in ERA (2.14), WHIP (1.13), hits allowed per seven innings (5.5) and wins (17). She's had five outings with seven or more strikeouts, headlined by a career-high 12-strikeout performance against Augusta back in March.

Meanwhile, Ward has certified herself as one of the biggest power threats in the league. The Marietta, Ga. native had 0 career home runs on Mar. 6. That was until she bombed a pair of home runs in back-to-back games against Emmanuel and Augusta. Since then, Ward has kept her bat with a total of seven home runs this season to rank second on the team. That total includes a standout performance at Georgia Southwestern in which she hit three home runs in a game and two in the fifth inning alone. 

The seven players and Davenport totaling nine all-conference awards for UNG marked the biggest haul of any team in the conference this season. After a 21-3 regular season and 10th straight PBC regular season crown, now the Nighthawks embark on a mission to secure their 10th straight PBC Tournament title. 

UNG will host a quarterfinal pod this weekend as the tournament begins with the Nighthawks taking on eighth-seeded Augusta at 2 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 26. Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park will also play host to fourth-seeded Flagler and fifth-seeded USC Aiken this weekend.