GREENWOOD - The defending national champion and No. 7-ranked University of North Georgia softball team claimed a pair of three-run Peach Belt Conference games from Lander Friday afternoon when the Nighthawks swept a doubleheader, 7-4 and 6-3, at Doug Spears Field.

North Georgia improves to 39-6 overall and 17-1 in the PBC, while Lander moves to 23-17, 9-9. The Bearcats will next host PBC foe Young Harris at 2 p.m., Sunday.

In the first game, North Georgia's Courtney Poole (38-2) earned the win after striking out nine, walking two and allowing two earned runs on eight hits in the complete seven innings.

Lander's Lexi Griffin (7-8) suffered the loss with two walks and three earned runs on six hits in four innings.

North Georgia jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first when Meagan May advanced home on Stephanie Hartness' stolen base, then Meredith Heyer tripled in Hartness and continued home on a Lander throwing error.

The Bearcats' Halie Sorrow crushed a two-run home run over the left centerfield fence in the bottom of the inning to trim the Nighthawk lead to 3-2. It was Sorrow's fourth homer of the season.

The Nighthawks tacked on three runs in the fifth to take a 6-2 advantage after Hartness belted a two-run homer and Ansley Phillips drove in Meredith Heyer.

Lander came back with one run in the bottom half of the fifth after Sorrow drove Casey Wooten in with a slow-roller to first base, then made it 6-4 in the sixth when Destiny Clyde doubled in MaKenzie Smith.

North Georgia finalized the scoring in the seventh after Brittani Crawford scored on Katie Block's sacrifice bunt.

For Lander, Sorrow went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Smith 2-for-2.

For North Georgia, May, Hartness, Heyer and Block had two hits each.

In the second game, Poole picked up her second victory on the mound with five strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs on nine hits in the complete seven innings.

Lander's Griffin was tagged with the loss, walking one and allowing four earned runs on six hits in 2.1 innings.

Block led off the North Georgia scoring with a two-run homer in the second inning and the Nighthawks added two more runs on RBI doubles by Kali Turner and Hartness to go up 4-0.

North Georgia stretched their advantage to 5-0 in the third when Heyer stole home.

Lander got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning after Madison Moore smacked a solo homer to left centerfield, her third of the season. The Bearcats added two more runs in the sixth on Moore's two-RBI single that plated pinch runner Bryanna Vasquez and pinch hitter Chandler Carey.

The Nighthawks finalized the scoring when May advanced home on Jessica Finch's sacrifice fly in the seventh.