Lourdes extended its winning streak to a school-best six straight games with a 7-1 victory over Indiana-South Bend on Saturday before dropping the second game to fourth-ranked Marian 2-1 at Hancock Park in Clermont, Fla.
 
"After a rocky start, I am pleased with how we finished the trip 6-1 over our last seven games," head coach Jo Ann Gordon said.  "The trip has helped us identify the things we need to work on when we return north in preparation for WHAC play."
 
Marissa Kostick (Saint Charles, Mich./Saint Charles H.S.) jump-started the offense in the opening inning against Indiana-South Bend, hitting her sixth home run in the first 11 games.
 
After the Titans responded with an unearned run in the second, the game remained tied at one heading into the bottom of the sixth when Lourdes erupted for six runs.  Brooke Gallaher's (Oregon, Ohio/Clay H.S.) pinch-hit single put the Gray Wolves in front and Oliviah Banister (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon H.S.) followed with a RBI single.  A pair of wild pitches plated two more runs in the inning, as did back-to-back errors.
 
Kostick went the distance in the circle for the win (3-0), allowing just the one unearned run and seven hits while striking out three.  Becca Stevens suffered the loss (0-2) for Indiana-South Bend (0-3), yielding six runs and six hits in 5.1 innings.
 
Banister and Kostick each had two hits for Lourdes, which managed six in the game.
 
Gallaher and Knights' hurler Grace Lumpkin matched zeros on the scoreboard for the first four innings of game two on the day.  Marian broke through in the fifth, as back-to-back singles followed by a sacrifice bunt and a groundout plated the game's first run.
 
Lourdes immediately responded in the sixth, manufacturing a run.  Shylee Schmeltz (Northwood, Ohio/Gibsonburg H.S.) reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved around to third on sacrifice bunts by Taylor Genzman (Saint Clair Shores, Mich./Lakeview H.S.) and Alyssa Ziegler (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold H.S.).  A wild pitch then plated Schmeltz from third with two outs.
 
The game remained tied into the bottom of the seventh when a pair of errors allowed the Knights to pull out the victory.
 
Gallaher took the tough-luck loss (1-3) in a complete game effort, allowing just one earned run and seven hits, while Lumpkin picked up the victory (3-0) for Marian (9-1).
 
Kostick had two of the Gray Wolves' four hits in the loss.
 
"We played great team defense today and had two strong pitching performances from Marissa and Brooke," Gordon added.  "It took a while for our offense to get going in game one, but we continued to put the ball in play against a very talented Marian team."
 
The Gray Wolves turned three double plays defensively on the afternoon.
 
Lourdes (6-6) will have a week off before returning to the diamond on Sunday, March 18, hosting Saint Francis (Ill.) in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Pacesetter Park in the Gray Wolves' home opener.