MINNEAPOLIS – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team saw its eight-game winning streak snapped on Friday morning with a pair of close losses to Concordia-St. Paul in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action inside US Bank Stadium.
 
SMSU had two-run leads in both games, but CSP rallied to win 3-2 in the opener and held on for a 5-3 victory in game two. CSP is now 10-10 overall, 5-3 NSIC, while SMSU drops to 12-7 overall, 2-6 NSIC.
 
In game one, SMSU broke a scoreless game plating two runs on three hits in the home half of the fourth inning. Connor Davis and Tanner Rezny started the inning with back-to-back singles before Jared Cortez drilled a run-scoring double for the first run of the game. After a ground out, Nathan Wheeler lofted a sac fly to right field to score Rezny to make the score 2-0, but SMSU was unable to add to the lead stranding a pair of runners in scoring position.
 
SMSU starting pitcher Cody Wichmann was outstanding limiting CSP to a pair of hits through five innings. After retiring the first batter of the sixth, Wichmann was touched for three straight singles and a double as the Golden Bears tied the game at 2-2 with one out. SMSU's Austin Dent relieved Wichmann with the bases loaded and one out and kept the game tied recording a strikeout and fly out to end the inning.
 
The SMSU offense however was held in check being retired in order the final two innings. CSP would push across the game-winning run in the seventh inning using a lead-off single, a sac bunt, and a two-out infield RBI single to take a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning.
 
SMSU was limited to a season-low three hits, while CSP finished with eight hits.
 
Wichmann closed the game tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Dent (2-2) suffered the loss allowing one run on two hits in 1 2/3 with a pair of strikeouts.
 
In game two, CSP jumped to an early lead in the first inning on a solo home run. SMSU would take its lone lead of the game in the third with Caden King earning a one-out walk before moving to second on a single by Davis. Following a line out, Cortez stepped to the plate and drilled a three-run home run over the left field fence to give SMSU a 3-1 advantage.
 
The lead did not last long as CSP used a two-run home run and then a two-out RBI double to plate three runs to regain the lead at 4-3.
 
SMSU left two runners on base in the fifth and had the tying run on third base with one out in the eight, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat.
 
CSP would add an insurance run in the ninth on a two-out RBI triple that was lost in the sun to make the score 5-3.
 
Jameson Quinn (2-2) was handed the loss after tossing the first five innings and allowing four runs on five hits with a season-high six walks and two strikeouts. Tad Tjaden was outstanding in relief recording five strikeouts and giving up just one run on five hits and one walk.
 
SMSU was limited to five hits with Cortez finishing with two, while Davis, Rezny and Wheeler each had one hit.

SMSU's Levi Lampert failed to reach base in the first game of the doubleheader ending an on-base streak that reached 64 straight games dating back to the first game of last season.
 
The teams conclude the series on Saturday with a single nine-inning game starting at 8 a.m.