COLUMBUS - For the second consecutive weekend, the Columbus State University softball team will be in Dahlonega, Ga. to take on the University of North Georgia, but this time it will be filled with postseason drama, as the two teams begin the 2021 Peach Belt Conference Tournament on Saturday.  

After two highly-contested games on Sunday, May 2, the Cougars and third-ranked Nighthawks will play a winner-take-all PBC Tournament semifinal game at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium. The winner will advance to the PBC Tournament championship on May 15 and play either second-second and 10th-ranked Young Harris College or third-seeded UNC Pembroke. 

The Cougars are no strangers to success in the PBC Tournament with CSU having five championships, including two under head coach Brad Huskisson. Under the 14-year head coach, the Cougars are 14-9 in PBC postseason play and have reached the tournament 10 times out of 13 opportunities.

Columbus State (30-13) reached the 30-win mark for the third straight full season and finished tied for third in the PBC standings with UNC Pembroke with a 14-6 PBC record. Due to the tie breaking producers, CSU was tabbed as the fourth seed in the tournament. The Cougars enter postseason play with 10 wins in their last 13 games, averaging over 6.2 runs per game during the stretch.

The quartet of Caitlyn Canady, Katelyn Cooper, Hannah Rose Corbin and Morgan Elston has been the driving force behind one of the most dangerous lineups in the nation. As a team, CSU leads the nation in walks (201), eighth in total homers (49) and ninth in scoring offense (6.26 runs/game). Corbin and Elston haven't been afraid to swing the stick as the duo is tied for fifth in the nation in homers with 15 apiece. Corbin, who was named a national finalist for the 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II Player of the Year award, is first in the nation in on-base percentage, holding an impressive .669 mark, while also setting a new PBC single-season record for walks after drawing 67 during the regular season. Elston (42) and Corbin (39) are tied for second and fourth in RBIs in the PBC, respectively. 

Canady and Cooper set the table for the heart of the Cougar lineup, as both enter the postseason with on-base percentages above .450. Canady is leading the PBC and ranks sixth in the country in hits with 63 to go along with 23 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Cooper is hitting .373 with 10 extra-base hits, while ranking inside the top-five in the conference with a .492 on-base percentage. 

The circle has belonged to Corbin of late with the sophomore turning up the heat as the season progressed. In 30 appearances, Corbin has punched out 204 hitters in just over 159 innings of work. Overall, she has a 20-8 record with a 2.55 ERA, but her best work came during PBC action. The Clanton, Ala. native had a sub-2.00 ERA against conference foes, while limiting opponents to just a .183 average. Late in the year, Corbin had a streak of 38 innings without allowing an earned run, including tossing the program's 24th no-hitter against USC Aiken on April 23. She is just one of three pitchers at the DII level this season to strike out 19 or more hitters in a single game in 2021 and ranks fourth in the nation in strikeouts and sixth in victories.

North Georgia, who is ranked third in the nation in the latest NFCA coaches' poll, won the program's seventh straight PBC regular-season championship and will also be looking to extend its tournament title streak to seven over the next week. UNG went 35-5 over the year and won 17 of its 18 conference tilts. The Nighthawks are on a 13-game winning streak after sweeping the Cougars in Sunday's doubleheader. 

UNG kept up the program's pitching tradition in 2021 as the staff posted a collective ERA of 1.36 lead by Kylee Smith and Laken Chambers. Smith holds a 1.30 ERA and a .83 WHIP over 102.2 innings in the circle for the Nighthawks. She has a 14-3 record and has tossed five complete-game shutouts this year. Chambers has even more impressive numbers, allowing just five earned runs in 62 innings of work. The 0.56 ERA leads the PBC, while opponents are hitting just .184 against her.

The Nighthawks can put up the runs as well with Margaret Simmons pacing the offensive attack. Simmons is hitting .403 and is third in the nation with 19 long balls. All eight UNG players who have at least two plate appearances per game are hitting above .320 on the year.

Cougar fans can watch Saturday's semifinal game live on the PBC Sports Network and also follow the action with live statistics.