DAHLONEGA – The No. 11 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team forced a seventh and final game in the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional #2 Tournament after a 9-6 win over No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne (LR) at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, UNG began the decisive game against the Bears but did not finish as the game was halted in the third inning due to rain. The contest, paused at 2-2 with a pair of runners in scoring position and two outs in the top of the third, will resume at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 11. Nighthawk redshirt sophomore right fielder Tagen Levao-Maisonet will bat first as she was at the plate in a 2-1 count at the time of the interruption.

UNG forced the decisive final game after an offensive explosion in the early innings of Saturday's first contest against LR.

The game barely got underway before the Nighthawks were on the board as junior center fielder Sydnee Reaves blasted a home run over the right field wall on the first pitch of the game.

Reaves' 11th homer of the season gave way to a seven-run first inning for UNG.

The Nighthawks quickly loaded the bases after Reaves. Senior shortstop Rylie Moody then punched a single into center field to plate another two runs. 

A hit batter loaded the bases once more for Levao-Maisonet who promptly grounded a single up the middle to make it 5-0 UNG. The Nighthawks sent seven batters to the plate before recording an out in the game.

Reaves came to bat for the second time in the inning, with two outs this time. She too singled up the middle to score two more runs. In the first inning alone, Reaves went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs. 

UNG added another run in the second inning when junior pitcher Chloe Poss singled up the middle to score freshman catcher Carleigh Knowles and make it an 8-0 game.

In the third, the Nighthawks expanded their lead to 9-0 as junior first baseman Marycille Brumby towered a ball over the wall in right center field for a solo home run. 

Brumby has come to life as of late for UNG. The corner infielder is 5-for-11 with two home runs and four RBIs in the NCAA Tournament this season. She now has eight dingers on the year. 

The Bears eventually got their own bats going on offense, scoring in the third, fourth and fifth innings to eventually make it 9-6. 

However, freshman pitcher Graci West came into the game in the fourth inning and quieted one of the most potent offenses in the country. The rookie finished the game with 3.2 innings pitch, only allowing three hits and one run with a pair of strikeouts. 

Moody added an insurance run for the Nighthawks with an RBI double in the top of the seventh inning to give UNG a 10-6 edge.

West then closed the game with three outs in the bottom of the seventh inning for her first career save. 

Now the Nighthawks will look to resume the 2-2 tie in the final game of the Southeast Regional #2 Tournament. A win will send UNG to its fifth straight Southeast Super Regional. Should the Nighthawks advance, they will head to Florence, S.C. to take on No. 2 and top-seeded Francis Marion May 15-16 in the Super Regional.