It’s time to play ball. The University of North Georgia baseball team started its season with a 4-2 record. The Nighthawks opened the season with a series record of 3-0 against Mars Hill University and a series record of 1-2 against Florida Southern College.

According to the UNG Athletics website, The Nighthawks have had 21 winning seasons out of the 23 total seasons since the year 2000. Within the 23-year history, the Nighthawks have won 10 championships. The most recent was the 2019 Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship.

“Last time we made it [to regionals] was 2017 and we are trying to get back there – it’s our goal for the season,” says sophomore Riley Frost, short-stop for the Nighthawks. He says, “It’s a high bar to come in and see our record but we talk about having a good regular season and making it to the post season. We have high hopes all the time for regionals.”

Senior Nik Levensteins, first baseman for the Nighthawks believes the team has what it takes to work together and accomplish their goals. “We have a young team – but we are very talented. We have so many guys who can play that everyone has a chance to get in and do their job. It’s not a one man show this year. We are a true team.”

Levensteins says he is feeling the heat this year because this is his last chance at a regional title. “I’m technically a fifth year COVID senior. Due to COVID, everyone got their year back and now we are getting to the end of that cycle.”

Both Levensteins and Frost say Head Coach Tom Cantrell is the main influence shaping the UNG baseball program. Levensteins says, “He loves this place and started it from the ground up. We have all these nice facilities because of him. He has stuck by this program and has led by example. He is the ultimate leader and he believes in us and pushes us every day to be the best.”

In his 27 years of coaching, Cantrell has spent the past 23 years with the UNG baseball program. Frost said, “As long as he is breathing, he will be a part of this program.”