DENVER, Colo. --- Head Coah Nikki Udria's Biola Softball team has already reached new heights for Biola Athletics this season, but now they've got their eyes set on a higher prize.

Following a thrilling championship Saturday victory over No. 11 Concordia Irvine, the newly minted NCAA Division II West Region Champion Biola Eagles hit the road to their first appearance at the NCAA Division II Softball Championship finals.

Biola's 3-1 run through the NCAA Division II West Region bracket earned BU the No. 5 seed at the 8-team finals, hosted by Metro State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. Play begins Thursday, May 27, when Biola is scheduled to play No. 2 North Georgia (No. 4 seed) at 12:30 p.m. PT. 

The result of game one determines when Biola plays game two in this double-elimination, eight-team tournament. A day one win would have Biola play the winner of No. 1 Augustana/No. 9 Valdosta State at 10 a.m. PT on Friday. A different day one result would have Biola play the loser of Augustana/Valdosta State at 3 p.m. PT on Friday.

All games will be played at the Assembly Athletic Complex on the campus of MSU Denver, which is operating at full capacity. Tickets are $8 per game and must be purchased online in advance. There is no all-tournament ticket or multi-game passes. Additionally, MSU Denver does charge for parking with a fee between $5.50 - $7 per day.

All games will feature a free live stream at NCAA.com and live stats, also at NCAA.com. The game one direct live link is https://www.ncaa.com/game/5843658. All game times and links will be updated on the Biola Softball Schedule page and also at the tournament central page on the Metro State website.

Biola is making its first NCAA Division II National Championship finals appearance in its first season eligible for NCAA Division II postseason. The Eagles' first-round matchup UNG is entering the NCAA Division II National Championship finals for the sixth time since becoming postseason eligible in 2008. 

TEAM 28
Team 28 for Biola Softball made history last week by winning the first regional championship among any program in Biola's NCAA Division II era. Head Coach Nikki Udria's squad now has its sights set on an even bigger trophy - a national title.

Biola is one of just eight teams remaining following its west region win. A run to the title would be Biola's first team national championship in NCAA Division II. Biola also never won a team title (in any sport) during its tenure in the NAIA. So, the stage is set.

"I feel very well equipped to go to Denver and make a statement for the West region and the PacWest," said Udria. "I think we have one of the best conferences in Division II. We beat each other up all year so we can go and represent well, and hopefully Biola does that this year."

The Eagles finished the regular season one game back from No. 11 Concordia Irvine in the tough PacWest Conference Southern California pod. Biola was 7-5 against CUI during the year, but the other Eagles had a better record against Azusa Pacific to take the pod title and the No. 1 seed at the west regional.

Biola and Concordia battled through the two one-run games in Irvine this past Saturday before the red and black Eagles earned the opportunity to hoist the regional championship trophy with a come-from-behind 2-1 game two win.

Paige Austin and Kayla Neff have headlined the individual awards for Biola this season, with both women earning all-region honors from both the NFCA and D2CCA. Austin had the best season, statistically, of any pitcher in the PacWest Conference en route to the all-region first team honors. Neff, the 2019 PacWest Conference Player of the Year, earned all-region second team nods.

Austin threw 19 innings in three days at last week's NCAA Division II West Region Championship. She struck out 23 batters in those 19 innings and picked up a pair of wins, showing no signs of rust despite a 25-day gap between appearances.

This season, Austin has a 12-6 record with a 1.45 ERA. She's struck out 154 batters in just over 125 innings of work and she leads Biola with a 0.94 WHIP. Austin is top-25 in the nation in hits-per-7-inning and top-30 in strikeouts.

Neff is making the most of her fifth and final year in a Biola uniform, entering play this week with a .333 batting average, four homeruns and 23 RBI. She leads the team in on-base percentage with a .447 mark courtesy 21 walks to just 10 strikeouts.

Austin, Neff, Jennifer Morinishi, Ruth Munoz and Raylene Roybal each earned All-PacWest honors in 2020-21. Udria headlined the PacWest honors by earning her first Coach of the Year recognition. She's in her third season as head coach and has led Biola to a 68-36 overall record (.653).

"I am extremely grateful and really humbled because Kristin Halte has been here for 14 years. To have someone who has invested so much into this program be a part of this experience means so much to me," said Udria. "I know the alumni back home are crying so happy and sending so much love to our program. I say thank you to those people who came before."

Biola comes into this tournament having played the fewest number of games out of any of the eight participants at 36 total. The other seven teams are averaging a tick over 38 wins total. 

Despite the difference in games played, the strength of the west coast softball helped Biola earn the fifth seed in this tournament, which was seeded based on RPI rating. Biola, Concordia Irvine and Azusa Pacific rank 1-2-3 in the NCAA Division II "toughest schedule" rankings through the end of regionals.

ABOUT NORTH GEORGIA
North Georgia won the national title in 2015, defeating former PacWest Conference school Dixie State in the championship. This year is just their second finals appearance since 2016. This opening round meeting will be the first-ever meeting between Biola and UNG. 

The Nighthawks are located in Dahlonega, Georgia, play in the Peach Belt Conference and enter this tournament as the Southeast Regional Champions. UNG has 10 PBC titles and 10 PBC tournament titles since 2008, including wins in each of the last seven Peach Belt Conference tournaments.

UNG is currently ranked No. 2 in the NFCA NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. The Nighthawks have been inside the top-5 in the top-25 poll in each of the 14 polls released in 2021, including three polls as the No. 1 team in DII. They began the year with 17-straight wins and come into the national tournament sporting a 41-6 overall record.

North Georgia went 4-1 in the Southeast Regional championship, winning both games on championship Saturday (4-0; 3-1) to come back from behind against No. 5 Lincoln Memorial (38-8).

Mike Davenport is in his 21st season as the head coach of North Georgia. He took over the softball program following four years as an assistant coach in the UNG women's basketball program. In the subsequent years, he's been an incredible leader for this NAIA/NCAA II powerhouse. He sports an all-time record of 924-240 (.794) and has 15 conference titles and one national title under his belt.

The Nighthawks are led by a pair of NFCA NCAA Division II All-Americans in Kylee Smith and Margaret Simmons. Smith is a first-team All-American pitcher who's won three-straight conference pitcher of the year awards and comes into this week with a 17-4 record, 1.49 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 131.1 innings. She leads the nation in hits-per-7-innings.

Pitching is a strength for UNG, who is fourth in all of NCAA Division II with a team ERA of 1.39. It's a 1-2 punch between Smith and Laken Chambers who entered this tournament 14-0 overall with a 0.60 ERA over 82.1 innings. Both pitchers have a WHIP under 0.90. Twenty of UNG's 41 victories this season have come via shutouts.

Simmons is the biggest piece on the offensive end for the Nighthawks. She was named Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and is the shortstop on the All-American second team. Simmons is hitting .383 this season with 19 homeruns and 53 RBI. She's helped North Georgia be top-5 in all of Division II with 62 homeruns this season.

She's one of four Nighthawks hitting above .350 on the season and one of two (Shelby Hammontree) with double-digit big flies.
  STATISTICAL COMPARISON

NORTH GEORGIA	CATEGORY	BIOLA
41	WINS	22
.872	WIN %	.611
1.39	ERA	2.07
6.72	STRIKEOUTS/GM	5.67
0.96	WHIP	1.13
6.57	RUNS/GM	3.1
1.31	HR/GM	0.13
1.75	2B/GM	1.02
.322	BA	.256
.404	OBP	.326
90-101	SB-ATT	37-48