For the first time in 2016 Lourdes registered a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon as the Gray Wolves defeated Cornerstone 7-3 and 7-5 at DeWitt Field in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
"These were great team wins today," head coach Jeremy Snow said afterwards.  "We had some good at bats moving runners over and kept our energy up throughout the game, even when they battled back.  We had strong starting pitching in both games and the bullpen did its job."
 
Lourdes jumped in front in the opening inning of game one as Dallas Riggs (Prescott, Ariz./Paradise Valley H.S.) singled home Zak Laubscher (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg H.S.).
 
After Cornerstone tied the game at one in the second, the Golden Eagles took the lead in the fourth 2-1.  Lourdes did not allow the hosts to maintain the lead long though, tying the game in the fifth.  Laubscher singled home Noah Hayes (Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek H.S.) with two outs.  Nick Toth (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson H.S.) put Lourdes in front for good in the sixth with a two-out single to plate Riggs.
 
Paul Avila (Nogales, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro H.S.) went six innings to earn the win (2-6), allowing just seven hits while striking out three.  Liam Bloom (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton H.S.) tossed a scoreless seventh and closer Brandon Holt (Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna H.S.) came on in the eighth to earn his third save.
 
The Gray Wolf bats gave Holt insurance in the ninth, scoring four times, batting around with two outs.  Garrett Jex (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green H.S.), Riggs, George Pastor (Walled Lake, Mich./Central H.S.), and Glen Crabtree (Medina, Ohio/Black River H.S.) kept the line moving with consecutive RBI singles.
 
Riggs finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and two runs scored while Laubscher had three hits in five at bats.  Matt York (Oregon, Ohio/Clay H.S.) also had a two-hit game in the opener.
 
"Zak Laubscher's at bats over the last week have been very good," Snow added.
 
Ben Sheckler suffered the loss (5-3) for Cornerstone, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings while striking out nine.
 
In game two Lourdes took advantage of a Cornerstone error in the first to plate three two-out unearned runs.  Crabtree doubled home two and Toth followed with a run-scoring single.
 
After Cornerstone cut the Gray Wolf advantage to 3-1 in the second, Lourdes responded with a run of its own in the third.  Riggs reached on an error, Crabtree doubled him to third and Toth delivered a sacrifice fly.
 
"Toth did a really good job in RBI situations in game two," Snow commented.
 
The Golden Eagles tied the game in the third on a RBI groundout and a two-run home run by Travis Gordon.
 
The game stayed tied until the fifth when Crabtree registered his third double of the game to score Adam Dolesh (Richmond, Ind./Seton Catholic H.S.) and Pastor scored on a wild pitch.  The Gray Wolves added an insurance run in the sixth on a RBI single by Jex.
 
Bill Laranga (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee H.S.) earned the win (2-6) pitching five innings, allowing just five hits and four runs.  Bloom tossed the sixth and Holt, despite allowing one run in the seventh, earned his second save of the day, pitching the seventh.
 
Crabtree finished 3-for-4 while Jex had a pair of hits in game two as well.
 
Kyle Marburger suffered the loss (0-6) for the Golden Eagles, allowing all seven runs, only three of which were earned, in six innings.  He struck out seven.
 
Lourdes (10-29, 4-16 WHAC) and Cornerstone (15-24, 9-11) will close out their four-game weekend series with another doubleheader on Saturday.  First pitch in game one from DeWitt Stadium is set for 1 p.m.