MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. ? Rand Smith tied a school record by extending his hitting streak to 25 games, but Appalachian State University baseball had its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 5-3 loss at College of Charleston on Friday evening.

Smith went 3-for-5 to match the 21-year-old ASU-record hitting streak, set originally by Tommy Green in 1988. He can claim the record all to himself with a hit on Saturday.

Smith wasted no time in tying the record, as he singled up the middle to lead off the game. The Mountaineers followed with two more singles to load the bases with nobody out but came away with only one run when Charleston starter Jesse Simpson induced a run-scoring double play and a groundout to get out of the inning with limited damage allowed.

The Cougars scored the next four runs with single tallies in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-1 lead.

Appalachian (19-17, 8-12 SoCon) rallied for two runs in the seventh to pull within a run at 4-3. ASU benefited from two wild pitches in the inning, the second of which brought Isaac Harrow home from third with the second run of the stanza.

However, College of Charlesoton (23-13, 11-8 SoCon) got one of the runs back in the bottom of the frame when the Mountaineers' second charged error and fourth defensive lapse of the evening led to an unearned run that stretched the deficit back to two runs at 5-3.

ASU put runners on in each of the final two innings, even sending the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, but couldn't manage to score any more runs against the Charleston relief duo of Curtis Dowling and Nick Osterman.

In a game that featured 21 singles but no extra-base hits, Simpson out-dueled Appalachian starter Matt Andress to earn the win. Simpson allowed eight hits and walked three over seven innings of work but notched nine strikeouts, many of which came in big spots, to move to 6-2 on the season. Andress (2-5), surrendered nine hits and walked five in five innings but also worked his way of some jams and was saddled with only three earned runs in the loss.

Nine of ASU's 10 hits came from the first six batters in the order, paced by Smith's 3-for-5 performance and a 2-for-5 effort from Chris Alessandria.

Nine of Cougars' 11 hits also came from their top six batters. Clay McCord, Joey Bergman, Joash Brodin and Matt Mansilla led the way with two hits apiece and Brodin scored three runs to lead the Cougars to their 16th-straight regular-season victory over the Mountaineers.

The teams continue their three-game SoCon series on Saturday when they square off at Patriots Point Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.