Lourdes suffered a pair of heart-breaking losses on Saturday afternoon as Concordia (Mich.) walked off with 3-2 and 5-4 victories over the Gray Wolves at Cardinal Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
 
"It was a tough day for us," head coach Andy Ham said afterwards.  "I'm proud of how we battled.  Once again our pitching was outstanding, but we haven't been able to get the big hits we need or extend the lead when we've had opportunities."
 
A double by Garrett Jex (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green H.S.) followed by a Cardinal error gave Lourdes a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of the opener.  Concordia tied the game in the fifth with an unearned run and took the lead in the seventh with a two-out double.
 
The Gray Wolves tied the game in the top of the ninth as Zak Laubscher (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg H.S.) singled with one out, moved around to third on an error, and scored on a wild pitch.  Concordia answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring the game-winning run on a Lourdes error.
 
Frank Shaffer (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg H.S.) started and wound up with a no decision after throwing seven innings of six-hit baseball, allowing just one earned run.  Ryan Veres (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) suffered the loss (1-2), surrendering the unearned run while walking four.  Jon Targus earned the win (3-1) out of the bullpen for Concordia.
 
In game two, RBI singles by Alex Samson (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville H.S.) and Laubscher, along with a balk, allowed Lourdes to plate three runs in the second inning.  After Concordia scored one in the third, Lourdes rebuilt its three-run advantage as Samson singled home Bill Laranga (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee H.S.), who had doubled.
 
The Cardinals pulled to within 4-2 with a single run in the bottom of the fourth, but Lourdes maintained its advantage into the bottom of the seventh.  With one out, three straight hits, the last which also included an error, tied the game, and following a pair of intentional walks and an out, Kyle Frey delivered his second hit and second RBI to win the game.
 
Matt Melcher earned the win (1-1) after pitching a scoreless seventh for Concordia while Brandon Holt (Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna H.S.) suffered the loss (2-1) after taking over for Matt Olsavsky (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.).  Olsavsky went six innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run while striking out six.
 
Lourdes (8-23, 4-13 WHAC) and Concordia (15-23, 8-10) will close out their four-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon with another doubleheader.  First pitch in game one is set for 1 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium.