Lourdes honored its 2017 senior class on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Field, but Concordia (Mich.) spoiled the celebration, sweeping a doubleheader from the Gray Wolves 16-7 and 9-8.
"While the day didn't go as we hoped on the field, I want to thank all of the seniors again for their contributions to the program," head coach
Jeremy Snow said afterwards.
Concordia jumped in front early in game one, plating a pair of runs in the first before the Gray Wolves could retire a hitter, and added a third run in the second inning.
Lourdes battled back, scoring two in the bottom of the third to close within one via a groundout and a throwing error.
Omar Prieto broke the game open in the fourth, hitting a grand slam as part of a five-run inning, and the Cardinals added another in the fifth to lead 9-2.
Dallas Riggs (Prescott, Ariz./Paradise Valley H.S.) singled home
Zack Laubscher (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg H.S.) in the fifth, but Concordia added four more runs in the sixth, three on a Prieto double as part of his eight-RBI game.
The Gray Wolves plated three runs in the seventh as
Mike Vomastek (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson H.S.) had a run-scoring single and scored on
Bill Laranga's (Maumee ,Ohio/Maumee H.S.) RBI triple. Laranga then scored on a Laubscher groundout.
After Concordia scored three more runs in the ninth, Riggs doubled in the bottom half of the frame and scored on a
Glen Crabtree (Medina, Ohio/Black River H.S.) single.
Laubscher, Riggs, Crabtree, and Laranga each had two hits as part of Lourdes 10-hit effort, but the Cardinals tallied 17 hits off or Gray Wolf hurlers, led by three each from Prieto and Ben Balgaard.
Marshall Oetting earned the win (6-2), allowing two earned runs and five hits in five innings while
A.J. Schraffenberger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick H.S.) suffered the loss, surrendering eight runs and eight hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Lourdes scored first in game two, as
Cameron Gallo (Mason, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick H.S.) delivered a two-run double in the first and
George Pastor (Walled Lake, Mich./Central H.S.) added a RBI single in the opening inning.
Concordia tied the game in the second, scoring three times, two of which were unearned, and forged ahead in the third. The Cardinals added two more runs in the fourth and a single tally in the fifth to lead 7-3 before the Gray Wolves rallied.
Dan Johnson (Westland, Mich./Franklin H.S.) hit his first collegiate home run to lead off the fifth and Gallo added a two-run double in the inning to pull the Gray Wolves within one, 7-6.
Concordia plated two in the seventh, which proved to be insurance tallies as Pastor singled home a run in the seventh and Riggs added a RBI double in the eighth. The Gray Wolves put two runners aboard in the ninth, but could not tie the game.
Riggs went 3-for-4 in the nightcap while Gallo had two hits and drove home four runs. Lourdes had 14 hits as did Concordia, which was led by a four-hit effort from Jacob Maas.
Austin Atwood earned the win (4-0) in relief for Concordia (34-9, 17-6 WHAC), tossing two scoreless innings, while Vomastek suffered the loss (0-2) in relief.
Lourdes (7-27, 4-20) will step out of league play on Monday to travel to Goshen. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. at the Goshen Baseball Complex in Goshen, Ind.
