Lee Hodges delivers a pitch for Blue Earth in Wednesday’s game against the Waterville Indians.

All good things must come to an end.

The Blue Earth Pirates remain one of the top contenders in amateur baseball, but their lengthy win streak, a 17-game stretch that began on Opening Day and included eight shutouts, came to a close after a Wednesday night comeback fell short at the hands of the Waterville Indians.

A four-run first inning by Waterville put the previously undefeated Pirates in an early and uncharacteristic hole. And while a steady string of walks, as well as ninth-inning baserunners, kept Blue Earth alive down the stretch, the Indians’ opening-frame surge proved too much to overcome in a 7-6 decision.

Derek Masberg, a 2016 transfer to Winona State University, opened on the mound for Waterville and kept the Pirates offense at bay. Blue Earth, meanwhile, had trouble preventing some early bleeding, as starter Brandon Williamson surrendered five runs before giving way to player/manager Lee Hodges in the fourth inning.

Hodges aided in the Pirates’ comeback attempt, inducing an inning-ending double play on his first pitch of the night. But errors in the field and some extra-base hits by Waterville kept the Indians ahead en route to Blue Earth’s first defeat since the 2015 season.

Former BEA?Buccaneer Alan Davids and veteran shortstop T.J. Schmidtke were among the Pirates’ offensive standouts, with Davids earning a pair of late-game walks and Schmidtke pacing the team at the plate with a multi-hit evening. John Franta and Trent Sonnickson also had hits in the one-run loss.

The Pirates had better results on Friday, July 1, to log win No. 17 on the season, but it was not without another rare scare for the team, either.

Squaring off against pitcher Nick Fure and the Wells Wildcats, Blue Earth saw a three-run lead dwindle in the game’s final two innings, stranding two Wildcat runners in the ninth to secure a narrow 3-2 victory.

Williamson opened the game as the Pirates’ pitcher and threw four scoreless innings before giving way to Aaron Wendt, who kept the Wildcats off the board in two innings of relief.

Hodges, the team’s leader in saves, ran into some late trouble before closing the contest on top. Wells added single runs in both the eighth and ninth innings against Blue Earth and had another runner in scoring position before Hodges got the final batter on a looking strikeout.

Wendt, Schmidtke and Brandyn Olsen drove in runs for the Pirates in their 3-2 win. Both Wendt and T.J. Stallman had extra-base hits off Fure, with the latter sending a double off the right-field wall at the fairgrounds.

Before two consecutive league games starting on July 13, the Pirates kicked off the 2016 Coors Light Tournament on Friday in Shakopee. Matchups with the Moorhead Brewers and Raymond Rockets on Saturday followed their Friday night bout with the Shakopee Indians.

Blue Earth’s July 13 game, an 8 p.m. showdown with the Cleveland Spiders, will be at home.