MEQUON, Wis. – Chris Finn (Jr.-Mapleton, Ill.) hit a pair of two-run home runs, including one for the lead in the 10th inning, but the Lakeland University baseball team lost twice in heartbreaking fashion to Concordia University Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon at Kapco Park in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play.

An early season of near misses for the Muskies continued with losses to the Falcons by scores of 5-4 and 10-9, the second coming in 10 innings. Lakeland dropped to 6-12 overall and 0-4 in the NACC, and six of its 12 losses this season have now come by a single run.

The Muskies held leads late in both games against Concordia (8-10 overall, 4-0 NACC), including a 9-7 lead with two outs in the bottom of the 10th in the second game. Lakeland had come back from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game at 7-7 when Finn hit his first home run as a Muskie to cap a three-run eighth inning, and the Muskies took the lead in the 10th when Finn followed a double by Logan South (So.-Oswego, Ill.) with his second home run of the day.

Concordia's Connor Lasch singled with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Jake Tubbs (Jr.-Antioch, Ill.) got Jameson Dick to strike out looking for the second out of the inning. Lakeland would never get the final out, though, as Matt Miller singled with two outs, Colyn Lessila hit a two-run double to tie the game, and Jason Valdez reached on an error while Lessila scored the winning run.

Finn went 2-for-2 with his two homers and Bryce Backus (So.-Kenosha, Wis.) added three hits with two RBIs and two runs scored in the nightcap. Tubbs took the loss, allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) in 1 1/3 innings, while Eli Watkins (Jr.-Herrin, Ill.) pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief and allowed two runs.

Lakeland also led a good portion of the first game, then came back to tie the game before Concordia would win in its final at bat.

The Muskies scored their first runs of the game in the third inning, tallying three times including an RBI double by J.T. Cortinas (Jr.-Chino Hills, Calif.) and later a two-run double by Mikey Hernandez (Jr.-Lennox, Calif.) to make it 3-0. Lakeland would make the runs stand up for some time, with Jonathan Maldonado (Jr.-La Puente, Calif.) taking a four-hit shutout into the seventh inning.

The Falcons broke through for four runs in the seventh, taking advantage of an error to open the inning and getting a two-run double by Mick Vagner followed by Graham Kasten hitting a two-run homer to suddenly give CUW a 4-3 lead. Lakeland came back with a run in the eighth when Cortinas doubled and Sean Gregorius (So.-Germantown, Wis.) hit a triple to tie the game. Concordia would win it in the ninth, though, with back-to-back hit batters followed by Kasten hitting a game-winning single to center to score Alex Ames.

Cortinas went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the first game. Maldonado pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs (three earned), while Rily Roberts (So.-Chattanooga, Tenn.) took the loss, allowing two hits and one run in 1 1/3 innings.