Levensteins named to Academic All-America team
News July 20, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. — Despite a season-ending injury, Nik Levensteins has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) 2021-22 Academic All-America® team for NCAA Division II.
Levensteins, a junior from Arvada, Colorado, carries a 3.82 cumulative grade point average in Finance. He is the second UNG baseball player to earn a spot on the Academic All-America Team, joining Brian Lauderdale in the 2006 season.
Levensteins belted 11 homeruns and 32 RBI in 34 games.
CoSIDA began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors.
Currently, CoSIDA sponsors Academic All-America® programs for men’s soccer, women’s soccer, football, volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball and men’s and women’s track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program.
Eligible student-athletes must have a cumulative grade-point average above 3.30, have participated in at least 50 percent of their team’s contests, completed one calendar year at the nominating institution, reached sophomore athletic eligibility and be nominated by their institution’s sports information director.
UNG rallies from 8-run deficit to beat Catawba
Press Release February 28, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. – After trailing 8-0, the No. 18 University of North Georgia baseball team scored the final nine runs of the game, including one in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the series against Catawba with a 9-8 win Sunday.
Catawba put up three runs in the third, capped off by a Joe Butts two run homer, and five in the fourth to build up the 8-0 lead. The Nighthawks began to claw back in the sixth when Nik Levensteins hit a two run blast to get the rally going. North Georgia then put up five in the seventh off doubles from Connor Frost and Justin Bailey before Levensteins hit his second homer of the day to score the final three of the frame and slash the lead to 8-7.
With the first pitch of the eighth inning, Jake Arnold sent it flying over the wall, tying the game at 8-8. In the ninth, North Georgia loaded the bases with a leadoff double, a hit by pitch and an intentional walk, setting up Kaleb Freeman to draw a seven pitch walk to win the game.
NOTES
– North Georgia’s bullpen combined for six innings of three hit baseball, striking out 11. Daniel Courtney (1-1) got the win, fanning two in a perfect 1.1 innings of work.
– It was the fourth time in his career that Levensteins has hit multiple homers in a game.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will take on Southern Wesleyan in midweek action Tuesday to wrap up the 14-game homestand. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Williams spins shutout in UNG win over Catawba
Press Release February 27, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Just hours after playing the longest game in program history, Pierce Williams threw a five hit shutout as the No. 18 University of North Georgia baseball team evened the series with Catawba Saturday with a 2-0 win.
North Georgia scored in the first inning, plating Crews Taylor on a Nik Levensteins sacrifice fly. The Nighthawks pushed their second run across in the third on a Jake Arnold RBI double down the line in left.
From there, Williams took over, stranding three Indians at third base over the final six innings to preserve the shutout.
NOTES
– Williams (3-0) threw 114 pitches, fanning six while walking just one.
– Kaleb Freeman and Garrett Hollenbeck were each 2-for-3 on the day, while Levensteins was 1-for-1 with a single, the sac fly and two walks.
NEXT UP
Levensteins homers twice in 14-0 win
Press Release February 7, 2022
Nik Levensteins
DAHLONEGA – Nik Levensteins homered twice, including a two-run bomb in the first inning as the University of North Georgia baseball team took down No. 16 Lee Saturday, 14-0.
After a Tim Conway single, Levensteins blasted a 1-0 pitch to right field to put UNG in front, 2-0. The Nighthawks scored five in the second inning on an error, four walks, a hit batter and a two-RBI single by Jorge Arispuro.
North Georgia didn’t stop there, scoring a run in the third on a RBI single from Conway and then four more in the sixth on a Levensteins grand slam to take a 12-0 lead. The Nighthawks plated two more in the eighth on a RBI single from Crews Taylor and a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.
NOTES
– Levensteins becomes the 51st player all-time in UNG baseball history to have two homers in a single game. He is also just the third to have eight RBI, tying Andres Perez for second all-time in the record book.
– Levensteins and Conway each finished with two hits with the latter going 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored.
– Pierce Williams (1-0) got the win, going five innings with three strikeouts and three hits surrendered.
– North Georgia’s pitching combined for 10 strikeouts, including five from Pete Weil and one from Caleb Mitchell in the ninth.
NEXT UP
The rubber match of the season-opening series is set for 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
UNG places 4 on Preseason All-Peach Belt Conference Baseball Team
Press Release January 29, 2022
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of North Georgia baseball team was picked to finish second in the Peach Belt Preseason Coaches Poll released Friday by the conference office. Additionally, Tim Conway and Crews Taylor were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team as outfielders, while Cade Heil was named a starting pitcher and Nik Levensteins was named the designated hitter.
Columbus State received six first-place votes and 78 total points to take the top spot in the coaches poll, edging out North Georgia by four. Georgia College and Young Harris were tied for third with 60 each while USC Aiken was fifth and Georgia Southwestern sixth. Flagler, Lander, Augusta and Claflin rounded out the voting. North Georgia finished second in the PBC standings in 2021, winning 30 or more games for the sixth year in a row. The Nighthawks also advanced to the championship round of the PBC Tournament for the first time since 2009. Eight seniors return for 2022 with five position players and two weekend starters on the mound.
Conway, a junior from Decatur, Georgia, hit .324 with 13 doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBI, tying for eighth in the PBC in doubles and ranking 10th in base hits. He had nine multi-RBI games, including four against Francis Marion along with 17 multi-hit games with a 4-for-4 effort against Catawba. Conway was named a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Bronze Scholar.
Heil, asenior from Suwanee, Georgia, was a first-team All-Conference selection who was named a PBC Pitcher of the Week and a NCBWA Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week a year ago. Heil made 14 starts last season with an 8-1 record in 80.2 innings pitched, recording 54 strikeouts, two complete games and one shutout. He was tied for the PBC lead in victories and ranked fourth in the league in innings pitched. Heil earned the recognition of being a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar as well.
Levensteins, a junior from Arvada, Colorado, was named All-American by the ABCA, NCBWA and D2CCA and a first-team All-Conference selection after hitting .338 with 11 doubles, 19 home runs and 62 RBI. He tied for the PBC lead and tied for seventh in NCAA Division II with 62 RBI and also ranked third in the PBC in slugging percentage, seventh in on-base percentage and tied for ninth in runs scored. Levensteins was the winner of the Elite 16 Award in 2021 as well as a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Silver Scholar, PBC Team of Academic Distinction and the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award.
Taylor, a senior from Lawrenceville, Georgia, was a PBC second-team All-Conference selection last season and was also named All-Region by the ABCA and NCBWA as well as an All-Tournament selection. Taylor hit .303 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBI, leading the PBC with 42 walks drawn and was tied for third in doubles, tied for sixth in home runs and ranked 10th in RBI and home runs. Taylor was also named a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Presidential Scholar.
The Nighthawks will open the season one week from today as they play host to No. 16 Lee Friday, February 4, at 4 p.m
Levensteins earns All-American status
Press Release June 6, 2021
DAHLONEGA – University of North Georgia baseball player Nik Levensteins earned two more All-American accolades when he was named to the ABCA/Rawlings Second Team and the D2CCA Third Team, each association announced Friday afternoon.
Levensteins is the fifth All-American in the NCAA era and the first since Michael Gouge earned third team honors in 2017.
The sophomore from Arvada, Colorado, hit .338 with 19 homers and 62 RBI, adding 11 doubles while posting a .763 slugging percentage. He had 54 hits and 49 runs scored on the season. He was a consensus first team All-Southeast Region honoree as the designated hitter before earning the NCBWA Third Team All-American accolade earlier this postseason.
At the conference level, he was named first team All-Peach Belt and the Elite 16 Award winner.
Nik Levensteins, Crews Taylor Earn NCBWA All-Region Honors
Business May 21, 2021
PRESS RELEASE
WINGATE, N.C. – University of North Georgia baseball players Nik Levensteins and Crews Taylor earned NCBWA All-Region honors Friday, the association announced. Levensteins was the first team designated hitter, while Taylor was a second team outfielder.
Crews Taylor
Levensteins earns first team All-Region accolades for the first time in his career. The sophomore hit .338 with 19 homers and 62 RBI, adding 11 doubles while posting a .763 slugging percentage. He had 54 hits and 49 runs scored on the season. He was named first team All-Peach Belt and the Elite 16 Award winner.
Taylor was a preseason All-Region honoree in 2020 and earned second team All-Conference honors as well as a spot on the All-Tournament Team in 2021. He hit .303 on the year with 15 doubles and 15 homers and 46 RBI as the centerfielder for UNG. This is his first All-Region honor of his career.