Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Softball: After taking 10 days off following the annual spring trip, Lourdes returns to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon, traveling to Findlay for a doubleheader against the Oilers.

Head Coach Jo Ann Gordon: In her fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Jo Ann Gordon has a 58-108 (.349) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In her 15th season overall as a head softball coach, Gordon has a 210-396 (.347) career mark.  She is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Findlay has won all four previous meetings against Lourdes dating back to April 8, 2014.  Last season the Oilers swept a doubleheader at Pacesetter Park, winning 8-6 in the opener and 5-1 in eight innings in game two.  Findlay won a doubleheader at Anderson Field back in 2014, the only previous trip Lourdes has made to Findlay, Ohio.

Wrapping Up Last Week (or Two Weeks Ago): Lourdes finished its spring trip with a 4-8 record in Florida.  The Gray Wolves opened the year with a 4-3 walk-off victory over second-ranked Saint Xavier.  Lourdes also defeated Spring Arbor and split a pair of games with Saint Francis (Ind.) and Hannibal-LaGrange while falling to Cardinal Stritch, Bellevue, Mount Vernon Nazarene, and Marian twice.
 
Scouting Findlay: The Oilers have been idle since March 11 as well, dropping games to Drury and Illinois-Springfield on their final day in Florida.  Madison Arnold leads Findlay batting .412 with six home runs and 15 runs batted in while Lauren Trumpler is hitting at a .340 clip.  As a team the Oilers are hitting .242 on the year while the pitching staff sports a 3.66 earned run average

Schedule Update: Lourdes' scheduled game at Huntington for Friday has been cancelled.  The Foresters are required to make up Crossroads League postponements from this past weekend, and it does not appear that the Gray Wolves and Huntington will make up the game this season.

Knocking Off Number Two: Lourdes opened the season defeating a NAIA top-25 program for the first time in school history.  The Gray Wolves plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to down second-ranked, and defending national runner-up, Saint Xavier 4-3.  Prior to the win, Lourdes had faced 15 ranked opponents all-time without a victory.

Playing Time for Everyone: All 18 players on the Gray Wolf roster saw action in at least three of the 12 contests during the spring trip.  Only Taylor Genzman and Kayla Encalado appeared in all 12 games, with both starting every contest as well.  In fact, 17 of the 18 players drew at least one starting assignment during the week.

Genzman Swings a Hot Bat: Taylor Genzman hit safely in all 12 games for the Gray Wolves on the spring trip, the longest hitting streak of her career.  The sophomore hit safely in seven consecutive games last year as a rookie.  Genzman is batting .525 (21-for-40), a mark that ranks 13th among all NAIA players.  She also has drawn five walks for a .578 on base percentage.  She has six multi-hit games, including three three-hit contests.

Shirling Saves the Day: Samantha Shirling earned a save against Spring Arbor, the second of her career.  The junior pitcher is just the second Gray Wolf in program history with more than none career save, matching Lauren Marstin's career total, set during the 2013 season.

Gallaher Limits Opposing Offenses: Brooke Gallaher held opposing hitters to juts a .256 batting average in 19.1 innings of work over her three starts on the spring trip.  The junior right-hander won a pair of contests and tossed two complete games while posting a 2.53 earned run average.

Switching Sports: Meghan Birr needed a couple of games to get her timing down on her swing after switching from the volleyball court to the softball diamond.  The Honorable Mention All-American setter from the volleyball squad started just 1-for-10 over her first six games.  However, her bat heated up over the final five contests, going 7-for-13 (.538) during the span, raising her season average to .348.  She also leads the Gray Wolves with four stolen bases.

Allowing Runs Early: Lourdes has surrendered 55 of its 87 runs in the first three innings this season.  The Gray Wolves have allowed 13 first inning runs, 27 in the second, and 15 more in the third inning of games.

Spreading Out the Offense: Lourdes has scored either six, seven, or eight runs in each inning overall this season.

This and That: Hitters leading off innings are reaching base 46.1% (35-of-76) the time for the Gray Wolves ... opponents are batting just .136 against Brooke Gallaher with two outs ... Paige Churchfield has reached base in each of her last six games.