BELMONT, N.C. – The No. 22 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team pulled off an impressive rally to save its season and take down No. 26 Carson Newman (C-N) 4-2 in an elimination game in the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional Friday in Belmont, N.C.

The Nighthawks kept their season alive with the win and will now face elimination again Saturday, May 17 at 4 p.m. when they take on the loser between No. 12 Lenoir-Rhyne (LR) and No. 14 Belmont Abbey (BAC).

After a complete-game performance from graduate starter Pierce Williams lined Thursday's loss in silver for UNG by preserving the bullpen, junior right-hander Matthew Heard did the same thing in the win Friday.

Despite a two-out, two-run single in the first inning, Heard twirled seven complete innings on 101 pitches in the win over the Eagles.

After three singles in the first inning, Heard allowed just four hits, no runs and no walks over the next six innings. He struck out eight C-N batters before being relieved by graduate closer Zach Green in the eighth inning.

Heard needed no message or motivation to propel him to another fantastic outing Friday. The stakes were enough. 

"I mean there's not really much of a message but win or go home at this point," the hard-spinning right-hander said after the game. "So, [go] out there and give us a shot, that's all I was trying to do all day."

"He's given us all that he's had all year long and he did today," said head coach Tom Cantrell after the game. "Just like he's been, when he gets settled in, he's an ultimate competitor and he left it all out there."

Green completed the eighth inning with a strikeout after retiring the side in order. 

In the bottom of the eighth, senior catcher Bryson Stripling singled to left field and stood on first base as the Nighthawks' first lead-off runner of the game. 

Two pitches later, junior center fielder and 2025 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year Andrews Opata did what the best players in baseball do. He rose to the occasion. 

A number of soft pop outs riddled UNG's first two games in the Southeast Regional. When Opata skied an 0-1 pitch towards left field, it looked like another pop out. But the ball kept traveling… and traveling… and traveling. 

Finally it curled toward the left field foul pole and over the fence. In one swing, Opata loosened up a Nighthawk offense that had tensed up under the bright lights. His two-run blast and 12th homer of the season tied the game at 2-2.

Junior shortstop Jace Bowen blooped a single to center field on the very next pitch. After one baseball cliché in the inning already, UNG got another bloop and a blast.

Redshirt junior first baseman Phillip Ard had zero hits in four at bats in the NCAA Tournament before digging into the right-handed batter's box in the eighth inning Friday. That all changed when he drilled a no doubter to left field to put the Nighthawks on top 4-2. 

"We were joking about it walking up here saying, 'we were dangerous because we were due,' I feel like that was fitting," said Ard in the post game press conference. 

Ard's 23rd blast of the year not only gave UNG the sudden lead, but it marked history as the slugger has now tied the program record for most home runs in a single season, tying Crews Taylor's mark from 2022 and Andres Perez's total from 2018. 

"That's a big individual achievement and all, [but] I'm proud for our group of guys… Coach doesn't like us talking about it but it's his last year and we don't want it to end at all. We want it to keep going day by day and so it's cool to have that, but at the same time we just need to keep winning ball games."

Green took the mound in the ninth and finished the game with two more strikeouts and a pop out to preserve the season one more day. 

Heard and Green combined to allow just two runs on eight hits Friday. The duo did not walk a single batter and combined for 11 strikeouts to keep UNG in the game.

With another outstanding pitching performance and clutch at bats from four Nighthawk veterans, UNG lived to fight another day. 

"Well we waited long enough," joked Cantrell who's retirement was prolonged with Friday's win. "We hadn't done a whole lot of hitting since we've been here. We've been doing a whole heck of a lot of pitching though."

First pitch in Saturday's win-or-go home matchup against the loser between LR and BAC takes place at 4 p.m. With a win, the Nighthawks will play again at 7 p.m. against the winner between the Bears and Crusaders.