ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul's (30-15) run through the NSIC Tournament came to a close on Sunday afternoon with a 6-4 loss to #15 St. Cloud State (42-8) in the NSIC Tournament Championship at Joe Faber Field.

After a strong tournament run that included wins over regionally-ranked #4 Minnesota State and two wins over #3 Minnesota Duluth with the only losses coming at the hands of the region's number one team, St. Cloud State.

With the strong postseason finish enhancing the team's resume, Concordia now hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament despite not being ranked among the region's top-10 in any of the three published rankings the past three weeks.

SCSU receives the NSIC's automatic bid to the regional with a strong case to host the tournament which is played Thursday, May 19 through Sunday, May 22 at a site to be announced on the selection show. The Great American Conference (GAC) Tournament Champion is the fifth ranked team in the region, Arkansas-Monticello while the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Championship will be played between second-ranked Central Missouri and sixth-ranked Missouri Western.

The tournament selections will be announced via a live webcast tonight at 9 p.m. central time on NCAA.com.

Concordia looked to rally first in the second inning, but left the bases loaded with two outs. Senior right handed pitcher Yuji Suzuki kept the nation's average leader St. Cloud State off the scoreboard in the early going, retiring the Huskies in order in the first before getting a 6-4-3 double play to end the second. Suzuki pitched around a two out rally in the third after striking out the first two batters, stranding runners on second and third.

In the bottom of the third, sophomore Connor Olson led off with a double down the left field line to establish the school single season record with his 20th double. Senior Eric Fasnacht followed by ripping a double into the right center field gap for a 1-0 lead. He scored when senior Ryan Poppitz reached on a fielding error for a 2-0 lead.

SCSU tied the game in the fourth with a one out RBI double and a two out RBI single.

Suzuki worked the first four innings in his second start of the season, allowing two runs on three hits with three strikeouts in a no decision.

The Huskies grabbed their first lead in the top of the sixth inning, getting a two out RBI double and two-out RBI single from their 8-9 hitters, Jackson Goplen and Judd Davis to break the tie.

In the bottom of the inning, Concordia rallied as freshman Ben Suits led off by reaching on an error with Adam Hildebrandt reaching on a fielder's choice sacrifice to move pinch runner Steven Nessler into scoring position. Freshman Roch Whittaker executed another sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Sophomore Andrew Shotwell drove in Nessler with an RBI ground out to first to cut the SCSU lead to 4-3.

Fasnacht started the seventh with a single and moved to second on a throwing error on the play but the tying run was left 90 feet away. In the eighth, Concordia once again put the leadoff hitter on as freshman Tom Austin drew a pinch hit walk in the Suits/Nessler spot in the order. Freshman Jake Steckler ran for him and moved up on a wild pitch but was left there.

Junior left handed pitcher Josh Lenz worked the middle innings in relief of Suzuki, allowing a pair of runs in a pair of innings in the fifth and sixth. He would take the loss, falling to 7-3 on the season.

Junior southpaw Kevin Woebke finished the final three innings, allowing a pair of runs on four hits with three strikeouts as the bullpen kept the Huskies within reach.

In the ninth inning and trailing by three runs, Olson started things off by hitting a double to center field, his 21st of the year and sixth of the tournament. He scored on an RBI single up the middle by Tanner Holmquist, putting the tying run at the plate.

But SCSU reliever Logan Spitzack saved the game, getting the final two outs in succession for his sixth save of the year.

Spitzack went 4.0 innings in relief, allowing a run on three hits with five strikeouts. Cal Giese picked up the win to improve to 7-2 after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings.

Olson, Fasnacht and freshman right handed pitcher Gus Varland were all named to the NSIC All-Tournament Team. Olson hit .476/.542/.905 (10-21) with six doubles, a home run, eight runs and seven RBI. Fasnacht hit .474/.526/.542 (9-19) with a double, four runs, four RBI and just one error in five games with a strong .970 fielding percentage. Varland had the 9-inning complete game win over UMD on Friday, allowing just a run on six hits to the potent Bulldog offense in CSP's 10-1 second round victory.

Freshman Carter Schmidt also had a strong tournament week, hitting .400/.455/.650 (8-20) with four runs, two doubles, a homer and a pair of RBI. Shotwell drove in five runs while Poppitz, Holmquist and Suits each drove in three.

The Golden Bears hit .288/.372/.418 (51-177) as a team against some of the top pitching in the Northern Sun while holding their opponents to a slightly lesser .289/.361/.406 (52-180) slash. Concordia outscored its opposition 35-32 in the conference tournament, as well.

The 2016 squad holds a 30-15 record, tied for second most in a single season in program history with the 2007 team that finished 30-13 and the team has the most wins in a season since the 2009 squad that set the program record with a 35-18 finish.

#5 CSP'S NSIC TOURNAMENT RUN
5/12 - vs #4 Minnesota State - 8-4 (W, Kody Knaus, 6-1)
5/13 - vs #1 Minnesota Duluth - 10-1 (W, Gus Varland, 2-3)
5/14 - vs #3 St. Cloud State - 2-13 (L, Josh Lenz, 7-2)
5/14 - vs #1 Minnesota Duluth - 11-8 (W, Keanu Mendez, 6-1)
5/15 - vs #3 St. Cloud State - 4-6 (L, Josh Lenz, 7-3)

2016 NSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
-Sheldon Miks – Pitcher – St. Cloud State
-Bo Hellquist – Pitcher – Minnesota Duluth
-Alex Wojciewchowski – First Base - Minnesota Duluth
-Alex Fink – Infield – Augustana
-Judd Davis – Second Base – St. Cloud State
-Eric Fasnacht – Shortstop – Concordia-St. Paul
-Karl Sorensen – Outfield – St. Cloud State
-Connor Olson – Catcher –Concordia-St. Paul
-Gus Varland – Pitcher –Concordia-St. Paul
-Reese Gregory – Pitcher / Designated Hitter – St. Cloud State
-Jackson Goplen – Outfield – St. Cloud State
Tournament MVP – Karl Sorensen – St. Cloud State