ELKHORN, Neb. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team continued its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season on Thursday, falling in a doubleheader against the St. Cloud State Huskies, 6-3 and 4-1, at Frerichs Field. 
 
SMSU drops to 8-7 overall, 0-5, NSIC, while SCSU improves to 10-7 overall and 2-0 in league play.
 
In game one, SMSU battled into a trio of three-ball counts to open the first inning, turning it into two walks with one out, but a pair of groundouts ended the threat and kept the Mustangs off the board. 
 
It was the Huskies that struck first, using three hits and two SMSU errors to score four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-0 lead. 
 
Peyton Nash opened the second inning with a single to left on the first pitch he saw, but a fly out, strikeout, and groundout left him at second base before SCSU countered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning to lead 6-0. 
 
Again, SMSU threatened in the third inning, with a Chase McDaniel single, Jaxon Haase single, and Isaac Nett HBP loading the bases with no outs. Max Kalenberg drove in McDaniel on a sac fly and Owen Latendresse was hit by a pitch to reload the bases with a run in, but a strikeout and groundout ended the threat and brought SMSU within five at 6-1. 
 
Kobe Lovell entered the game after a leadoff double in the bottom of the third inning. After allowing a single to put runners on the corners, Lovell dug in, recording a pick-off before forcing a groundout and getting a strikeout to get out of the inning. 
 
That inning started a string of 11 straight outs from Lovell, who allowed a two-out single in the sixth before a lineout ended the inning. 
 
With the Mustangs down to their final out, the rally began to brew. McDaniel singled in between outs to give SMSU a baserunner. Nett singled to keep the game alive, and Kalenberg and Latendresse came up huge with RBI singles to get within 6-3. 
 
Nash followed that up by getting hit by a pitch while down to his final strike, loading the bases, but Grady Fuchs of SCSU entered the game and threw three pitches, all strikes, to pick up a strikeout and record the save. 
 
Lovell threw four innings in relief in game one, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 4 to keep SMSU in the game. McDaniel led the offense, hitting 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, and Kalenberg pitched in with a hit and 2 RBI. 
 
Shay Endres (1-1) started the game on the mound, allowing six runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out one. 
 
The Huskies opened the scoring in game two with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second. 

Carter Petron battled around the homer, allowing just the earned run on six hits and two walks while collecting a pair of strikeouts through the first six innings. 

SMSU had a runner reach base in the first, third, fourth, and seventh innings, but couldn't string anything together.  

The Huskies ended up getting to Petron in the seventh, allowing a double, single, and triple, resulting in two runs and giving SCSU breathing room at 3-0. 

Keenan Wenzel sent a spark through the Mustang bats in the eighth, hitting a one-out solo home run to left field and cutting the Huskies' lead to 3-1. Robbie Smith reached base with a two-out single and Brady Petron followed with a walk, but a fielder's choice limited the damage in the last SMSU offensive threat of the day. 

SCSU scored a run on a fielder's choice in the eighth to finish the scoring. 

The Mustangs return to the diamond on Friday, taking on Wayne State at the Wayne City Ballpark for a doubleheader starting at noon.