Photo Gallery

Offense was at a premium on a cold Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field as Lourdes and Cleary split a doubleheader.  The Gray Wolves won the opener 5-0 before the Cougars pulled out game two 1-0 in nine innings.
 
"We pitched really well in both games of the doubleheader today," head coach Jeremy Snow said.  "In game one our bats came through and we were able to sneak some runs across early.  In game two the big hits eluded us.  We had some opportunities but couldn't cash in."
 
Game one saw A.J. Schraffenberger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick H.S.) tossed a complete game three-hit shutout (1-3) for Lourdes, striking out seven while walking just one.  He only faced one jam in the game, when the Cougars put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth before he induced a pop out and ground out to end the inning.
 
Lourdes scored early and often, plating runs in each of the first four innings.  Glen Crabtree (Medina, Ohio/Black River H.S.) had a sacrifice fly in the first which proved to be the game-winning RBI, scoring Kyle Sherman (Collierville, Tenn./Rossville Christian Academy).
 
Zach Laubscher (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg H.S.) singled home Nick Toth (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson H.S.) in the second.  George Pastor (Walled Lake, Mich./Central H.S.) drove home Cory Fallwell (Tucson, Ariz./Palo Verde H.S.) and Dallas Riggs (Prescott, Ariz./Paradise Valley H.S.) added a RBI double which scored Pastor, giving Lourdes a 4-0 lead after three.
 
Crabtree drove home his second run of the game in the fourth, plating Sherman with a single to close out the scoring.  Schraffenberger did the rest as Lourdes earned the win.
 
Garrett Jex (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green H.S.) had the lone two-hit game for Lourdes, going 2-for-4 as part of a nine-hit effort for the Gray Wolves.  Eight of the nine batters in the lineup had at least one hit.
 
Devon Jones suffered the loss for Cleary, surrendering five runs and nine hits in 3.1 innings of work.
 
In game two, Lourdes' Paul Avila (Nogales, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro H.S.) and Cleary's Jack Ropp matched each other for nine innings in the game scheduled for seven.  Neither pitcher allowed an earned run, as the game was scoreless into the ninth.  Cleary score the game's only run in the top half of the inning, plating an unearned run courtesy of a leadoff error.
 
Ropp picked up the win, allowing just four hits while striking out six and walking two.  Avila suffered the loss (1-2), scattering nine hits while walking one and fanning four.
 
Sherman had two of the four hits for Lourdes in the game.
 
Lourdes (3-11) and Cleary (7-12) will wrap up their four-game weekend series on Sunday with another doubleheader.  The action will shift to Howell, Mich. with first pitch in game one set for 1 p.m. at Parker Field.