Being the only two upperclassmen on the team, Kristin Schnake and Christie Hamilton are being looked upon to lead a youthful Georgia (41-10) softball team through the NCAA Tournament.

After a showdown of the top two seeds in the Chapel Hill Regional, both seniors appear to be filling that role quite nicely.

Hamilton (22-8) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning while earning the win in Georgia’s 6-0 victory over North Carolina (46-12). The All-SEC pitcher delivered a complete game shutout to a Tar Heel lineup that put up 21 runs in their first game of the tournament – allowing only two hits and striking out five batters.

Schnake, a shortstop from Richview, Ill., broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a three-run home run to left-center field. The homer was Schnake’s fourth of the season – second in Georgia’s two tournament games – and broke open a third inning in which the Bulldogs scored all six of their runs.

“I think it was just our focus and good intensity,” Georgia head coach Lu Harris-Champer said about the pivotal third inning. “We just focused on us and did what we do.”

Alisa Goler would follow Schnake’s homer with a solo shot, as the third baseman sent her 21st home run of the season over the right field fence. With the home run, Goler extends her Georgia records and moves into a second-place tie for single-season home runs and RBI (77) records in SEC history.

Freshman Tori Moody put the finishing touches on the inning with a two-RBI single to push the score to 6-0. The Georgia lineup would end up hitting 10-for-29 and drawing three walks off of North Carolina pitchers Lisa Norris and Constance Orr.

Georgia now moves on to play on Saturday against the winner of the game between North Carolina and the winner of the Radford/Campbell game.

“It’s great, but when we get to play, it’s all about playing,” said Harris-Champer. “Anybody can win any game, so we’re just going to go out there and do our best.”