PENSACOLA, Fla. – The 12th-ranked UWF baseball team saw its 2023 season come to an end with a 11-6 loss to Barry in the championship game of the NCAA South Regional #2 at Jim Spooner Field on Saturday evening.
 
UWF ended the season at 39-17 and made its ninth NCAA postseason appearance and hosted for the third time in program history. The Argonauts also swept the Gulf South Conference regular-season and tournament titles.
 
Barry improved to 35-17 and will face either Tampa or Rollins in next week's super regional round.
 
The Bucs jumped out in the first, scoring five runs on five hits in the first inning, chasing UWF starter Parker Wakeman after he allowed the first three batters to reach base. Barry added a run in the third for a 6-0 lead.
 
UWF bounced back and scored five in the fourth to pull with one. Darien McDowell and Dean Hotz opened the inning with consecutive doubles. Preston Moore drew a 10-pitch walk before Mike Scordo belted his fourth homer of the season to trim the margin to 6-4. Jackson Grabsky singled and moved to third on a pair of groundouts before scoring on a True Fontenot single.
 
Barry added a run in the fifth and then stretched a 2-run lead into an 11-5 margin with four runs in the eighth.
 
Facing a 6-run deficit for the second time in the game, UWF pushed one across in the ninth but was unable to break through.
 
McDowell led the Argos with two hits, while six players had one hit apiece. 
 
Nick Vanderhoef (1-1) earned the win for Barry as he worked four innings of relief. Federico Zapata picked up his ninth save after working the final two innings as he entered with a 7-5 edge. 
 
Four of the Bucs' runs were unearned as UWF committed a season-high five errors.