Lourdes opened Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Wednesday at Pacesetter Park, sweeping both ends of a doubleheader from the University of Michigan-Dearborn 3-2 in 10 innings and 5-3.
 
The Wolverines are the defending WHAC regular season co-champions from one season ago.
 
"These were two great team wins today," head coach Jo Ann Gordon said after the games.  "We put all three phases of the game together.  We got two strong pitching performances, and that, along with timely hitting and solid defense proved to be the difference tonight."
 
Lourdes took the lead in the fourth inning of game one as Oliviah Banister (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon H.S.) led off with a double and moved to third on Shylee Schmeltz's (Northwood, Ohio/Gibsonburg H.S.) single.  A delayed double steal allowed Banister to score the game's first run.
 
The Gray Wolves doubled their lead in the fourth as Brooke Gallaher (Oregon, Ohio/Clay H.S.) delivered a run-scoring double to the gap in right-center, plating Alyssa Ziegler (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold H.S.), who led off the inning with a single.
 
Michigan-Dearborn rallied in the late innings, scoring a two-out run with a double by pitcher Gina Verduzco in the sixth and tying the game with a one-out single in the seventh by pinch-hitter Kayla Laquiere.
 
The game remained tied into the 10^th when Taylor Genzman (Saint Clair Shores, Mich./Lakeview H.S.) led off the inning with a double.  Olivia Stanton (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland H.S.) followed with a single to put runners on the corners and Marissa Kostick (Saint Charles, Mich./Saint Charles H.S.) loaded the bases with a walk.  After a fielder's choice retired Genzman at the plate, Sydnee Behlmer (Northwood, Ohio/Lake H.S.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Stanton with the game-winning run.
 
Kostick went the distance in the circle for the win (4-1), scattering six hits and walking two while striking out five.  Verduzco, who entered the game having allowed just one earned run all season, suffered the loss (5-2), after being touched for the three runs and eight hits.  She struck out three and walked two.
 
Genzman had the only two-hit game for Lourdes in the opener while Verduzco had two hits for the Wolverines.
 
Lourdes jumped on top in the second inning of game two, scoring three times while batting around.  A bases loaded single by Schmeltz scored the first run while Genzman followed with a walk to increase the lead to 2-0.  Stanton's RBI single plated the third run for the Gray Wolves.
 
After the Wolverines scored a run in the top of the fourth, Lourdes immediately answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the frame as Stanton delivered her second hit of the game, scoring Banister, who reached on a leadoff error.  Lindsay George (Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood H.S.) added a fifth inning insurance run for the Gray Wolves, doubling home Behlmer, who reached on a walk to start the frame.
 
Michigan-Dearborn (8-8, 0-2 WHAC) tried to mount a comeback in the seventh, loading the bases with no one out, and scored twice, but Gallaher induced a double play ball followed by a bouncer back to her to end the game.
 
Gallaher earned the complete game victory (2-4) for the Gray Wolves, giving up the three runs and six hits while walking four and striking out one.  Kaylie McConnell suffered the loss (2-1), yielding three runs, two of which were earned, and three hits in just 1.1 innings of work.
 
Lourdes (8-8, 2-0) will return to the diamond on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Livonia, Mich. to battle another WHAC co-champion from 2017 in Madonna.  First pitch in the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. at University Field.