SAN ANGELO, Texas – St. Edward's baseball closed its season Saturday, 25 hours after starting its final game as the Hilltoppers fell to Arkansas Fort Smith 15-12 in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament.
 
The game started at noon Friday before play was suspended at 3:01 p.m. in the bottom of the eighth inning, due to lightning in the area. Play resumed Saturday at 1 p.m., and neither team recorded a hit in the final seven outs.
 
WILLIAM HAIRSTON led the way, going 3-for-4 with a home run. TJ GISELBACH went 2-for-5 with five RBI and a run scored as hit his eighth home run of the season. As a team, the Hilltoppers finished with 13 hits including two doubles, one triple, and three home runs.
 
On the mound, JOSH GUERRA and JACOB VASQUEZ combined for three innings of one-hit, shutout relief. A total of seven Hilltopper pitchers made an appearance in the game.
 
St. Edward's (33-20) closes its campaign after a sixth-straight season of more than 30 wins and a sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional tournament. UA Fort Smith (34-21) advances to play the loser of Colorado Mesa versus Lubbock Christian.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Arkansas Fort Smith opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning.
• Giselbach responded with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first to give SEU a 4-3 lead.
• The Lions tied the game 4-4 in the second inning.
• ROMEO CORTINA sparked a four-run rally in the bottom of the second frame to put St. Edward's ahead, 8-4.
• The scoring continued fast and furious as UAFS took an 11-8 lead with seven runs in the third inning.
• Vasquez hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and made it 11-9, Lions.
• Arkansas Fort Smith added four runs of insurance in the sixth inning and put out the Hilltoppers final five batters to clinch the win.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• The Hilltoppers say farewell to eight seniors including: BRANDON BOONE, Cortina, HUNTER COURSON, Guerra, MILES WRIGHT, STUART SPRINGER, LUKE MEZA, and GABLE WHITACRE.
• St. Edward's is 26-9 in the all-time series with UAFS and 4-2 in the season series.
• Cortina closed his career on a 35-game reached-base streak.
• Head coach Rob Penders is 11-15 in the NCAA Tournament.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ROB PENDERS
"It's tough when you're down in the game to come back like that. I've never experienced any rain delay or extension of the game like that before. It's a difficult thing, but that's baseball. It's tournament baseball, and sometimes you can't predict what's going to happen."
 
UP NEXT
From its 2017 roster of 56 student-athletes, the Hilltoppers lose eight seniors and look to return a majority of their roster along with a fresh signing class for the 2018 season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Arkansas Fort Smith 15, St. Edward's 12
Records: St. Edward's (33-20), UA Fort Smith (34-21)
W – Yoning (4-1) L – Lawson (3-3) S – Harvey (1)
Attendance: 304
 
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.