Lourdes scored a run in the ninth to tie and plated the game winner in the 10
th on Sunday in game one, defeating Indiana Tech 2-1 before the Warriors won the nightcap 9-7 at Mercy Field.
The victory in the opener was the Gray Wolves' first against Indiana Tech after dropping the first 28 meetings between the two schools.
The opener was a pitcher's duel from the onset. The Gray Wolves'
Kolby Rogge (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) was masterful, tossing 4.2 no-hit innings before leaving in the fifth with an injury. He hit the second batter of the game and did not allow a base runner after that, striking out three.
Starter Yeshua Saint matched Rogge for the Warriors, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits. He was in line for the win as Indiana Tech took a 1-0 lead in the eighth on a triple and a sacrifice fly.
Lourdes loaded the bases with no one out in the eighth but failed to score. In the ninth,
Joey Oehlers (Lambertville, Mich./Bedford H.S.) led off with a pinch-hit walk and moved up 90 feet as
Ryan Jagodzinski (Perrysburg, Ohio/Rossford H.S.) reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt.
Jay Denman (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales H.S.) followed with another sac bunt, reaching on a fielder's choice as the throw to third was late.
Noah Childress (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) then tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center, forcing extra innings.
Ryan Kroll (Brownstown, Mich./Carlson H.S.), who earned the win (1-0) sent the Warriors down in order in the top of the 10
th with a pair of strikeouts. In the bottom of the frame,
Brad Ammons (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) tripled to lead off the inning and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of
Zack Mon (Columbus, Ohio/Westland H.S.) when the throw from the pitcher was high.
Childress and
Michael Strzelewicz (Temperance, Mich./Saint Mary's Catholic Central H.S.) each had two hits for Lourdes in the opener as the Gray Wolves managed just seven total in the game.
Indiana Tech (21-20, 8-4 WHAC) jumped in front 3-0 in game two, plating a run in the first before adding two more in the second. A pair of Warrior errors allowed Lourdes to score two runs in the bottom of the second before the visitors extended their lead back to two, 4-2, with a run in the third.
Ammons had a RBI on an error in the third and Jagodzinski followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game and the contest would remain deadlocked until the sixth. Indiana Tech scored two runs in the sixth and added another in the seventh to build a 7-4 advantage.
A Childress RBI single pulled Lourdes to within two in the eighth before the Warriors tacked on what would be two important insurance runs in the ninth. Lourdes tried to rally in its final at bat as
Devin Rooks (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer H.S.) tripled and Ammons followed with a home run to cut the deficit to two. Jagodzinski then tripled with no one out, but Kris Massey came on to retire the final three hitters for the save.
Rooks was 4-for-5 with three runs scored in game two while Ammons had three hits and three RBI as part of a 14-hit attack.
Spenser McGhee worked five innings to earn the win (2-3), allowing three earned runs while striking out six.
Anderson Strunk (New Baltimore, Mich./Algonac H.S.) suffered the loss (2-3), yielding six earned runs in seven innings on the hill.
Lourdes (14-20, 5-9) will take to the road for three straight games beginning on Tuesday with a non-conference contest at Huntington in a make-up of a March 31 postponement. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. at Forest Glen Park in Huntington, Ind.
