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64 squad is making its third trip to the NCAA Tournament with the other two appearances coming in 2008 and 2015. This year’ s selection marks the second at-large selection for the program.
USC Aiken reached the championship game of the 2016 Southeast Regional in Columbus and return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years. The Pacers are 39-13 overall on the season and make their 10th overall trip to the NCAA postseason in the PBC era. USCA will take on sixth-seeded Georgia College in the first round.
UNC Pembroke reached the championship game of the PBC Tournament on Saturday evening after eclipsing the 40-win plateau for the second time in program history. UNCP makes the NCAA Tournament for the second time, the first since 2011.
Georgia College stormed through the PBC Tournament with an undefeated record, capturing the championship on Saturday with a 6-5 win over the Braves. GC is the top-hitting team in all three NCAA divisions and earned the PBC’ s automatic bid. The Bobcats reach the NCAA’ s for the 12th time in the PBC era and for the fourth time in the last five years.
North Georgia Claims NCAA Southeast Region Championship!
MOUNT OLIVE, NC – The University of North Georgia’ s Andres Perez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning of a tie game to lift the Nighthawks to the NCAA Southeast Region Championship over Catawba 5-4 on Monday in Mount Olive. With the win, the Nighthawks( 46-10) advance to their first Division II World Series in Grand Prairie, Texas, starting on May 27.
North Georgia led by 3-1 and 4-2 only to see the Indians come
back and tie the game 4-4 in the top of the eighth. With two outs in the bottom of the innings, Perez took the 2-2 pitch over the left field wall, his seventh homer of the season.
Catawba got a leadoff single in the top of the ninth, but UNG pitcher Jack Fleming( W, 1-0) induced a double play and a fly out to end the game.
North Georgia scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-0 lead.
In the third, Perez got the scoring started with an RBI single up the middle that brought in Steven Tomlinson. Michael Gouge then delivered another RBI single to left in the fifth to bring home Devin Gearhart, who led off the inning with a walk. Conner Corbitt then scored in the sixth on a bases-loaded wild pitch. The bases remained loaded with one out but UNG was unable to put any more runs on the board with an inning-ending double play.
UNG starter Dylan Peppers kept Catawba off the board in his six innings of work. He scattered four hits and allowed only one walk with seven strikeouts. UNG had to go to the bullpen to start the seventh. Catawba scored two runs in that frame, helped by a UNG fielding error and scored runs a Jeremy Simpson RBI single and a sac fly from Luke Setzer.
The Indians( 40-17) tied the game in the top of the eighth with three hits, including a double, and another UNG error. Nick Coble delivered the double as a pinch-hitter, but was stranded at second as Jacob Nester ground out to short to end the inning.
Catawba’ s Michael Elwell( L, 0-3) took the loss after giving up the homer to Perez, one of two runs scored during his 2.2 innings of work. Indians starter Russ Welker went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Perez and Bill Leroy were the only two Nighthawks with more than one hit in the game. Leroy went 2-for-4 with a double in the
2016-17