Lourdes began play in the Warner Invitational on Thursday, suffering a 13-11 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene and a 14-2 setback to host Warner in Lake Wales, Fla.
 
"This was a tough day today," head coach Jeremy Snow said afterwards.  "We battled in the first game but ran out of innings, and game two was a tough performance defensively."
 
In the opener, Lourdes plated an unearned run in the opening inning on a single by Cameron Gallo (Mason, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick H.S.) before Mount Vernon Nazarene plated at least one run in each of the final six frames.  The Cougars built a 5-1 lead heading to the bottom of the third.
 
The Gray Wolves scored six times in the third to take the lead, four of which were unearned.  Kevin Suttles (Monroe, Mich./Monroe H.S.) had a two-run single which put Lourdes in front.
 
The Cougars scored three of their own in the fourth to retake the lead, one they would not relinquish.  Dallas Riggs (Prescott, Ariz./Bradshaw Mountain H.S.) homered in the fourth and Lourdes added another in the fifth, but the Gray Wolves still trailed 13-9 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
Lourdes tried to mount a rally, as Jay Denman (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales H.S.) hit a two-run home run in the seventh, but the Gray Wolves came up just short.
 
Rigs and Reilly Walters (Bowmanville, Ont./Bowmanville H.S.) each had two hits as part of a 10-hit attack, but four errors proved costly.
 
Christian Bacon earned the win (1-0) for Mount Vernon Nazarene (9-5), pitching 2.1 innings of relief.  Liam Bloom (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton H.S.) suffered the loss (0-2), surrendering 10 runs, five of which were earned, and 12 hits in 4.1 innings of work.
 
Warner struck quickly and often in the Gray Wolves' second game.  The Royals plated six runs in the first and added five more in the second.  After a three-run fourth made it a 14-0 lead, Lourdes got on the scoreboard with a home run by Denman in the top of the fifth.  Corey Righman (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley H.S.) added one final RBI in the seventh on a two-out double.
 
The Royals finished with 14 hits while Lourdes managed six, but left six runners on base.
 
Jarrett Joyner earned the win (3-1) for Warner (14-8), allowing one run while striking out nine in five innings on the hill.  Ryan Stoller (Ohio City, Ohio/Van Wert H.S.) suffered the loss (0-1), giving up 12 runs, six of which were earned, and 10 hits in three-plus innings.
 
Lourdes (7-6) will resume play in the Warner Invitational on Friday, facing Thomas at 10 a.m. and Saint Francis (Ill.) at 1 p.m. at Lake Wales High School.