INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - North Georgia and Lander were both selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, released by the NCAA on Sunday night. Both teams will travel to Tigerville, South Carolina to open up play in the NCAA Southeast Region on Thursday, May 14th hosted by North Greenville.
The Southeast Region features two four-team double-elimination regional tournaments that will be played this weekend. The winners of the two regionals will advance to a best-of-three Super Regional at the higher remaining seed for a trip to Cary, N.C., and the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. The other Southeast Regional, hosted by Catawba in Salisbury, N.C., features the second-seeded Indians alongside No. 3 seed Wingate, No. 6 seed Young Harris and No. 7 seed Belmont Abbey.
The back-to-back Peach Belt Conference champion Lander baseball team officially earned its second consecutive bid to the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament on Sunday night as the Bearcats were announced as the No. 8 seed in the Southeast Region and will travel to the Tigerville Regional to face host North Greenville in the opening round. The Bearcats have a 16-23 record vs the Trailblazers.
It marks the first time in program history that Lander has reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons and is the program's fifth overall NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season, the Blue and Gold were selected as the No. 8 seed in the Salisbury Regional, a bracket that featured four top-20 teams. Lander had host Catawba down to its final strike before the Indians rallied late, but the Bearcats rebounded to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in more than a decade with a victory over Young Harris.
The No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team earned the No. 4 seed in the Southeast Regional and will open the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship against No. 5 seed Francis Marion. The Nighthawks (41-14, 26-4 Peach Belt Conference) claimed the PBC regular-season title outright for the first time since 2017 and finished as runners-up in the PBC Championship Tournament.
Francis Marion (42-12, 27-6 Conference Carolinas) advanced in the Conference Carolinas Tournament with wins over Erskine and UNC Pembroke before falling to regional host and No. 1 seed North Greenville. North Georgia holds a 22-20 all-time record against the Patriots. The teams last met in February 2021, when the Nighthawks earned a 16-7 victory.
The Nighthawks and Patriots will meet in the opening round of the Southeast Regional on May 14 in Tigerville, South Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.