NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Columbus State University baseball team dropped the first two games of the 2023 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, ending the season with a 36-17 record. The Cougars lost game one 13-15 to third-seeded Belmont Abbey College and fell 3-12 in the elimination game to UNC Pembroke.

Belmont Abbey scored eight runs in the second inning to take a 9-0 lead over CSU. However, CSU tallied four runs in the third to minimize BAC's lead, thanks to a Steven Minter single, Derek Wylie double and a Win Johns single.

BAC went up 12-4 in the bottom of the third off of a two-run RBI triple and a single. The Cougars made it a 12-9 ballgame with three home runs from Minter, Isaiah Hernandez and Matthew McDade, but Belmont Abbey was able to keep the momentum going, leading CSU 15-9 after eight innings.

The Cougars scored four runs in the ninth to try to make a comeback, but came up short. Isaac Bouton, Minter, Johns, McDade and Ian King each tallied two hits for CSU. Colton Joyner collected the loss on the mound and fell to 10-4 overall.

In the nightcap, Pembroke took a 3-0 lead over Columbus State in the bottom of the first, but the Cougars tied it after scoring a solo home run from Johns in the fourth and two in the fifth, featuring a Johns RBI single.

UNCP took charge for the rest of the game, scoring five runs in the sixth inning and four in the seventh. Johns led the Cougars with two hits and two RBIs. Noah Windhorst received the loss and finished with a 7-3 record.