LEWISTON, Idaho -- The postseason run for Southeastern came to an end Thursday afternoon as No. 5 seed Southeastern fell to No. 8 seed Tennessee Wesleyan by an 8-5 score in the Avista NAIA Baseball World Series Elimination Semifinal at Harris Field.

The Fire conclude the 2026 season with a 45-18 overall record and their eighth consecutive appearance at the NAIA World Series, continuing one of the most consistent stretches in NAIA history.

Tennessee Wesleyan struck first with a two-run second inning before adding two more runs in the third on a two-run homer from Allan Gil Fernandez to build a 4-1 advantage.

SEU answered in the bottom of the fourth. Charlie Collins and Cort Pryor opened the inning with back-to-back singles before Braden Bartholomae delivered a two-run single to left field that trimmed the deficit to 4-3.

The Bulldogs responded immediately with a pair of runs in the fifth inning and added single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to extend the lead to 8-3. Tennessee Wesleyan finished with 16 hits in the contest, led by four hits from David Ballenilla and three from Brayan Espinoza.

Southeastern mounted one final push in the eighth inning. Jace Essig and Cade Parry opened the frame with singles before Pryor drove in a run with a base hit up the middle. Brock McMullen later reached on an infield single and throwing error that allowed another run to score, cutting the deficit to 8-5.

The Fire brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after Paul Wittmann singled and advanced to third, but Tennessee Wesleyan closed out the victory to advance.

Pryor led Southeastern offensively with a 2-for-4 performance and an RBI, while Armani Cozza and Nathanial Hopkins each collected two hits. Bartholomae drove in two runs, and Wittmann scored once while adding a hit after entering as a pinch runner earlier in the game.

Byler Reither took the loss after allowing four runs over 2.1 innings. Parker Lambeth, Micah Earwood, and Hayden Givens-Craig combined to cover the final 6.2 innings in relief.