BATON ROUGE, La. — Utah Valley's first trip to the NCAA baseball tournament ended up being a short one filled with weather delays, as the Wolverines fell to Southeastern Louisiana 3-2 on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium.
UVU (37-23) got behind early on Sunday, as the Lions (40-20) scored three runs in the first inning of Wolverine starter Jackson Cofer. In a half inning that included two hits, three stolen bases and an error, Southeastern Louisiana — which played the final three innings of a 7-2 loss to Rice earlier in the day at the Baton Rouge Regional — took control early in the contest.
The Wolverines fought their way back into the game, as Cofer settled down and went 7.1 innings on the mound, giving up four hits and striking out five.
"I'm definitely proud of these guys. I'm sad for them. To give up the three runs early, and then for Jackson to hold them right where they were and for us to keep fighting back, that shows what type of club they are," UVU coach Eric Madsen said in a team release.
UVU got on the board with a Trevor Howell scored on a fielder's choice in the third inning, and the Wolverines added a run one inning later when Spencer Gothberg homered to left field to make it a one-run game.
In the final five innings, though, UVU only had one base runner, as Southeastern Louisiana's pitching staff sat down 11 straight Wolverine batters as one point.
Cofer picked up the loss on the mound for UVU, while Domenick Carlini picked up the win for the Lions, who held the Wolverines to three hits.
Despite the 0-2 record at the NCAA Regionals — including a 7-1 loss to host LSU on the first day — UVU finished off one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Wolverines made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history by winning the WAC tournament the week before. The Baton Rouge Regional was delayed numerous times by rainy weather.
"It's been an awesome, awesome ride. For all of us to make it to our first regional and get down here and get to this awesome crowd here, man, it's been a pleasure being down here," Gothberg said in a team release. "Just love the game. Love playing baseball and just sad it's over."