Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Lourdes began play on Thursday evening at the Warner Invitational, winning a pair of games at Frostproof High School in Frostproof, Fla.  The Gray Wolves jumped out to a seven-run lead before holding on for an 8-7 victory in the opener against Thomas (Ga.).  In the nightcap against host Warner, the Drew Lepiarz (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) and Matt Olsavsky (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.) combined on a two-hit shutout of Warner, 5-0.
 
“Drew and Frank (Shaffer) pitched very well today and Matty O came on and shut the door twice for us,” head coach Andy Ham said of the victories.  We played two great team games against two very good teams.”
 
The shutout against the Royals was the first in school history for the baseball program.
 
Thomas scored first in the opening game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning before the Gray Wolves bats awoke.  Lourdes scored three times in the fourth and added five more runs in the fifth before holding off a late Night Hawks rally.
 
Tim DeCant (Northwood, Ohio/Lake H.S.) doubled and Josh Redies (Saline, Mich./Saline H.S.) singled to put runners at the corners in the fourth before Cole Fitzgerald (Rome, N.Y./Centerville [Ohio] H.S.) singled home the Gray Wolves' first run, tying the game.  Two batters later Marty Ramirez (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) then delivered a two-run single through the right side to make it 3-1 Lourdes.
 
Lourdes did all of its damage in the fifth after two were out.  John Crooks (Toledo, Ohio/Ottawa Hills H.S.) started the rally with a single and DeCant followed with a base hit.  Redies reached on an error, loading the bases, before Fitzgerald delivered a two-run double.  Ryan Kovar (Cleveland, Ohio/Benedictine H.S.) followed with a two-run two-bagger of his own before Ramirez singled to left-center, capping the five-run frame, with all five runs being unearned.
 
The Night Hawks scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI double and RBI single before cutting the deficit to one in the sixth.  Brett White drove home three in the sixth with a triple and Austin Corbitt followed with an infield single to make it 8-7.  Matt Olsavsky (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.) pitched the final 1.1 innings though to earn his second save of the season.
 
Frank Shafer (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg H.S.) earned the victory (1-1) for the Gray Wolves, allowing three runs and five hits in five innings of work, waling just one and striking out three.  Evan Morgan took the loss for Thomas, giving up eight runs, three of which were earned, and 10 hits in five innings.
 
Ramirez finished the opener 3-for-4 with three runs batted in for Lourdes while Fitzgerald had two hits and three RBI.  DeCant also had two hits as the Gray Wolves tallied 10 against the Night Hawks.
 
“Cole and Marty swung the bats very well in the opener,” Ham added.  “Cole also had a great diving catch in the fifth that may have saved the game for us.”
 
Game two was all Gray Wolf pitching.  Lepiarz allowed just two hits and walked four while striking out two in six innings plus, picking up the victory (2-1).  Olsavsky came on with two runners aboard and none out in the seventh, but registered a pair of strikeouts to rack up his second save of the day.
 
The Gray Wolves took control in the third inning with three runs as Fitzgerald led off with a walk and moved around to third on a pair of balks.  The freshman then scored on an Andy Kefalos (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton H.S.) sacrifice fly.  Mike Calloway (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech H.S.) then added a two-run double that plated Mark Oehlers (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) and Cody Berg (Garrettsville, Ohio/James A. Garfield H.S.).
 
“Mike's hit was huge in that second game for us,” Ham concluded.
 
Lourdes added an unearned run in the fourth as Kefalos scored on a throwing error.  In the fifth, Fitzgerald added his fourth RBI of the day with a double to right, plating DeCant with the final run of the game.
 
DeCant was the only Gray Wolf with a multi-hit game in the second contest as Lourdes had just five on the night.  Jimmy Diven suffered the loss (0-1) for Warner (8-17), allowing four runs, three earned, and three hits in four innings of work.  He walked four and struck out three.
 
Lourdes (5-7) will continue play on Friday at the Warner Invitational.  The Gray Wolves will face Bellevue (Neb.) at 12:30 p.m. before battling Bethel (Ind.) at 4:30 p.m.