SAN ANGELO, Texas – HUNTER COURSON hit his sixth home run of the season Thursday, but St. Edward's baseball could not rally as it fell to No. 3 Colorado Mesa, 11-2, in the first round of the NCAA South Central Regional tournament.
 
Courson finished the game 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. ROMEO CORTINA went 2-for-3 and scored as well.
 
On the mound, STUART SPRINGER (9-3), was dealt the loss as he gave the Hilltoppers five innings of work. He finished his outing with three strikeouts. HAYDEN BACH provided three innings of relief with three strikeouts.
 
St. Edward's (33-19) falls into the loser's bracket where it will face UA Fort Smith at noon Friday. Colorado Mesa (45-10) advances in the winners bracket to face the winner of West Texas A&M versus Lubbock Christian.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Colorado Mesa jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with two runs in the first inning and three more in the third.
• The Mavericks made it 10-0 with a run in the fifth frame and four more in the sixth.
• Courson broke up the shutout with his solo home run in the top of the seventh inning.
• Mesa answered with a solo home run of its own in the bottom of the seventh inning.
• Cortina looked to spark a rally in the eighth frame as he doubled and scored, but that would be all SEU could muster.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• The loss snaps the Hilltoppers' eight-game winning streak.
• St. Edward's trails the all-time series with Colorado Mesa, 3-1.
• Cortina extended his reached-base streak to 34 games, while TJ GISELBACH extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
• Head coach Rob Penders is 11-14 in the NCAA Tournament.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ROB PENDERS
"They were the better team today. We obviously weren't the best that we've been all year. When you give a good team like that free bases and free outs, they're going to capitalize on it. We had some guys on early, but we just couldn't cash them in. They beat us, and we've got to get through this tournament with one loss."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's faces the No. 6 seed, Arkansas Fort Smith in an elimination game Friday at 12 p.m. at Foster Field inside 1st United Credit Union Stadium. Live stats, audio, and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: #3 Colorado Mesa 11, St. Edward's 2
Records: St. Edward's (33-19), Colorado Mesa (45-10)
W – Leahy (12-0) L – Springer (9-3)
Attendance: 1089
 
For the latest information on the St. Edward's University Baseball team, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @SEUBaseball, or visit us at www.GoHilltoppers.com.