DENVER, Colo. -- In the first round of the NCAA Division II Softball National Championships, Paige Austin threw a one-hit shutout against No. 4 seed North Georgia to lead Biola to a 4-0 win on Thursday, allowing the Eagles to advance to the semifinals of the winners' bracket to face No. 1 seed Augustana tomorrow.

Biola has faced one of the toughest schedules of any team in NCAA Division II on the path to the national championships, and the fifth-seeded Eagles were ready to go in the second game of the tournament. Austin earned her third win of this postseason and her second shutout. She struck out four batters and only issued one walk in the win.

Two of the only three baserunners that Austin allowed all game came in the bottom of the fourth inning with a leadoff single followed by a walk putting two runners aboard. However, Austin got out of the jam with a strikeout to preserve a scoreless tie.

Madison Blossey opened the top of the fifth inning with a single to shortstop and that was followed by a single from the bat of Allie Beck to put runners on first and second with just one out. Ruth Munoz then advanced both runners with a grounder to the right side of the infield to allow both runners to get into scoring position. Biola then got to first-team NFCA All-American pitcher Kylee Smith with a pinch-hit single over the third baseman by Brie Nowak to drive in the first two runs of the game.

The Eagles kept threatening with Abie Nowak hitting a single into right-center field. Brie Nowak went from first to third on the hit and Abie Nowak advanced to second on the throw to set up Kayla Neff. During the West Regional, Concordia had elected to intentionally walk Neff in similar situations, but the Nighthawks decided to pitch to the 2019 PacWest Player of the Year. Neff made them pay for that decision a single into leftfield that allowed both baserunners to score, completing the two-out rally.

Biola was nine outs away after taking the 4-0 lead, but allowed a batter to reach on error to open the bottom of the fifth inning. Austin retired the next batter, and then Austin, Neff and Kylie Velasco turned a strike-her-out-throw-her-out double play. Austin continued to get help from her defense with the next six batters all putting the ball in play, but Biola recorded the out all six times to complete the victory.