PBC YEARBOOK
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II poll, UNG has a record of 50-6 and stands atop the final Southeast
regional poll.
Traveling to Dahlonega this week will also be fourth-seeded
Catawba, fifth-seeded Georgia College and eighth-seeded Young Harris.
All four teams in the Dahlonega Regional have been ranked in the
NFCA DII Top 25 poll at some point this season, with Catawba, Georgia
College, and North Georgia all cracking the Top 10.
Georgia College earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament
after finishing fourth in the Peach Belt Conference standings. The
Bobcats were the only team
in the PBC to earn a victory
against North Georgia this
season and enter the tournament with an overall record
of 39-16. This is Georgia
College’s second consecutive
year making a postseason
appearance in Dahlonega,
after facing the Nighthawks
in the 2015 NCAA Super
Regional.
Young Harris will be
making their first-ever NCAA
Tournament appearance in
the Dahlonega Regional. The
Mountain Lions grabbed the
final at-large spot with the
eighth-seed and a program-best 32-18 record. UNG swept the regular season series in YHC’s
trip to Hill Stadium last month.
Catawba will represent the South Atlantic Conference after
earning the league’s automatic bid by defeating Lenoir-Rhyne in the
conference tournament title game.
The Pirates (32-15) will be making their 14th NCAA appearance
in the last 16 seasons and will host third-seeded and No. 15-ranked
Lenoir-Rhyne (47-11) out of the South Atlantic Conference, sixth-seeded Pfeiffer (37-15) out of Conference Carolinas and seventh-seeded USC
Aiken (29-20) out of the Peach Belt Conference for the second of two
Southeast Regionals.
The Pacers are 29-20 on the season and are coming off a sensational run in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. USC Aiken became
the first No. 7 seed to ever reach the Peach Belt Conference Championship game. The squad defeated No. 2 seed Armstrong State 5-3 in the
PBC Quarterfinal before blitzing No. 3 seed Young Harris 11-3 in the
semifinal.
North Georgia senior standout Courtney Poole was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week twice during the 2016
season.
The first honor came on March 23 as Poole delivered another
outstanding weekly performance in the circle for the No. 8 Nighthawks. She tossed back-to-back no-hitters on the road and finished
the week, 6-0, only allowing one earned run (0.15 ERA), with four
shutouts and 49 strikeouts. Picking up her sixth Peach Belt weekly
honor, Poole garnered her first NFCA accolade this season and second
overall.
Following her MVP
performance at the Peach
Belt Conference Tournament, Poole picked up her
second National Pitcher of
the Week.
“We are excited for
all of the national recognition that Courtney has
received and she deserves
every bit of it,” said head
coach Mike Davenport. “She
has a tremendous work ethic and it has shown in her
improvement ever year in
her time here at UNG. Courtney has made her mark in
the school, conference, and
national record books and we couldn’t be more proud to call her a
Nighthawk.”
Poole closed out the regular season helping the Nighthawks
claim their third Peach Belt Conference title and a bid to the NCAA
Division II Softball Tournament. Highlighted by a no-hitter in the tournament, the senior righty went 5-0 with a 0.48 ERA, four shutouts and
21 strikeouts, while holding her opposition to a .141 batting average.
Poole ends the regular season with a 49-2 record on the year with a
0.62 ERA and 406 strikeouts.
After twirling a pair of shutouts against Montevallo (11 IP,