ST. LOUIS - The Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) Hornets got to Dan Creighton early while the Freed-Hardeman Lions couldn't get anything going off of Hornet starter Chris Kirkpatrick, and it added up to a 5-1 loss to HSSU to open a three-game conference series.

The Hornets (6-18, 4-12) scored all five of their runs in the first two innings, ending the day early for Creighon (5-2) who saw his streak of five straight winning decisions snapped.

The relief combination of Nolan Huber and Brandon Guske held HSSU scoreless for the rest of the game, allowing only four hits over the next six innings, but the Lions (24-11, 12-4) had an equally difficult time with Kirkpatrick who stranded eight runners and only allowed one run despite FHU's leadoff batter reaching base in five of the nine innings.

Freed-Hardeman's lone run came in the second on a two-out single by Pete Trollinger to score Bobby Seda.

HSSU took a 3-0 lead after one thanks to a two-out, three-run home run by Jonathan Alvarez. The Hornets added two more runs in the second, again coming with two outs, on singles by Jess Cartner and Javier Martinez.

Trollinger and Robert Prieto both had two hits for FHU, which saw a seven-game winning streak over Harris-Stowe come to an end.

The series concludes with a double-header on Saturday beginning at noon.