Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Softball: Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play begins this week for Lourdes University as the Gray Wolves begin a stretch in which they will play six of their next eight games away from home.  The league slate opens on Saturday as Lourdes heads to Cleary for a doubleheader before returning home to Gray Wolf Field on Sunday to host Madonna in a twinbill.

Head Coach Jo Ann Gordon: In her ninth season on the Lourdes bench, Jo Ann Gordon has a 94-198 (.322) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In her 19th season overall as a head softball coach, Gordon has a 246-486 (.336) career mark.  She is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes leads the all-time series against Cleary 6-4 dating back to March 21, 2015.  The Cougars swept the last doubleheader played between the two schools in Howell, Mich. 8-0 and 10-2 during the 2019 season.  The series is tied 3-3 in Howell.  Madonna is 15-1 all-time against Lourdes in a series that began April 14, 2013.  The Crusaders have won six straight meetings between the two schools after sweeping a twinbill at Pacesetter Park in 2019, 3-1 and 7-5.  Lourdes is 1-8 against Madonna all-time at home, with this being Madonna's first appearance at Gray Wolf Field.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Calumet scored four runs in the sixth to break open game one of Friday's (March 19) doubleheader and defeated the Gray Wolves 6-0.  In game two, the Gray Wolves battled back from a 2-0 deficit to down the Crimson Wave 4-2.  Alyssa Ziegler and Kim Waters each had two hits.  On Sunday (March 21), Lourdes scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the comeback came up just short in a 14-11 setback to Midway in game one.  Emily Wallace homered, had three hits, and drove in four while Katie Devine also had four RBI.  In game two, the Gray Wolves scored eight runs in the bottom of the second on the way to a 12-9 win over the Eagles.  Wallace again homered, had three hits, and four RBI.

Scouting Cleary: The Cougars are coming off a doubleheader split with Indiana-South Bend last Saturday, winning 4-3 before falling 6-2.  As a team, Cleary is batting .230 with Liz Stockert leading the way.  Stockert is hitting .375 with two home runs and seven runs batted in.  Mercedes Cole is batting at a .360 clip.  The Cleary pitching staff sports a 5.11 earned run average with opponents hitting .351 against them.  Cole has logged the most innings, registering a 4.30 ERA in 29.1 innings of work.

Scouting Madonna: The Crusaders enter the week following a doubleheader sweep of Calumet last Saturday (March 20), winning by scores of 3-2 in eight innings and 4-2.  Madonna hosts Olivet Nazarene on Thursday and visits Siena Heights on Saturday before heading to Lourdes.  As a team, the Crusaders are hitting .322 with Kattie Popko leading the way with a .600 average and 12 runs batted in.  Emily Pawleski has homered twice and has 10 RBI to go along with a .345 average.  In the circle, Madonna has limited hitters to a .260 average and posted a 2.44 earned run average.  Madisen Henry leads the way with a 0.47 ERA in 15 innings of work.

Quite a Sunday: Emily Wallace swung a hot bat on Sunday against Calumet.  She batted .667 (6-for-9) with three hits in each contest.  In addition, she homered twice, once in each game, and drove in eight total runs.  Wallace also had a double in each contest.  For the season Wallace is batting .354 with a team-leading nine runs batted in.

Devine Also Productive at the Plate: Katie Devine also had a solid doubleheader against Calumet.  The went 3-for-5 with a pair of walks and drove home six total runs, including four in the opener.  She doubled twice and scored three runs.

A Leader in the Circle: Ashley Roth has become a leader in the circle for the Gray Wolves, pitching 24.0 innings thus far this season.  She has lowered her earned run average to 3.79 while registering both wins for Lourdes.  She has struck out 14 hitters.

Streaking :Hailey Cramer enters the weekend with a six-game hitting streak, in which he has raised her season average to .313.  She has three doubles on the year and has scored a team-leading nine runs.

Getting on Base: Kim Waters has made the most of her plate appearances this season.  She has seven hits in 15 official at bats for a .467 batting average but has also drawn 10 walks, giving her a .680 on base percentage.

A New Field: Lourdes christened its new home, Gray Wolf Field, with its doubleheader against Mount Vernon Nazarene on March 5.  The field, which is shared with Sylvania Northview High School, was ready for play in 2020, however COVID-19 struck prior to Lourdes hosting any games.

On the All-Time Charts: Alyssa Ziegler swiped her 18th career base against Calumet, moving her into a fifth place on the Gray Wolves' career charts.  She passed Megan Mosiniak's (2013-2016) and Jamie Newman's (2015-2016) totals while in a Lourdes uniform and now trails Bre Megyesi (2013-2016) by 10 thefts for fourth place.

This and That: Lourdes is 5-16 all-time in extra innings ... Hailey Cramer, Emily Wallace, and Megan Richardson have started all 15 games ... 30 of the 126 runs allowed this season have been unearned.