Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Softball: Lourdes will play three doubleheaders in five days during the school's Easter break, two of which are make-up contests due to previous postponements.  The Gray Wolves will head to Concordia (Mich.) on Thursday before hosting Rochester (Mich.) on Friday in the lone regularly schedule contest.  Lourdes will return to the road on Monday for another make-up twinbill at Cornerstone.

Head Coach Caitlin Blanchard: In her first season on the Lourdes bench, Caitlin Blanchard has a 8-13 (.381) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves as well as a collegiate head coach.  She is the only the second head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Concordia (Mich.) holds a 14-5 advantage against Lourdes in a series that began April 17, 2013.  The Cardinals have won six straight in the series after a 4-0 and 10-5 sweep at Gray Wolf Field last year.  The Gray Wolves are 4-2 all-time against Rochester (Mich.) dating back to April 4, 2017.  The Warriors swept a doubleheader the last time the two schools met, winning 3-2 and 7-3 in Rochester Hills, Mich. during the 2019 season.  Cornerstone holds an 11-9 series edge against Lourdes dating back to March 4, 2013.  The Golden Eagles won all four meetings at Gray Wolf Field last year, including a 13-5 and 7-5 sweep during non-conference play and 6-0 and 8-4 wins during league play.

Wrapping Up Last Week: On Wednesday (Apr. 6), Lourdes split a doubleheader against Siena Heights in a twinbill that got moved to Gray Wolf Field.  Lourdes won the opener 3-2 on Ashleigh Riffle's walk-off hit before falling 7-4 in game two.  Sophia Dauterman had three hits in the nightcap.  On Thursday, Kirsten Smith struck out nine in a complete game 4-1 victory over Indiana Tech in game one before dropping game two 10-7 to the Warriors despite a home run from Annalisse Palma.  On Sunday, Smith had another complete game victory in a 10-2 game one triumph over Lawrence Tech before the Blue Devils took game two 6-5.  Brooke Albert had two RBI in game two for the Gray Wolves.

Scouting Concordia (Mich.): The Cardinals are coming off a doubleheader loss at the hands of Siena Heights 9-5 and 6-2 on Sunday.  Shannon McAlinden is hitting .442 with 19 runs batted in and Payton Lewis is hitting .434 with three homers and 29 RBI for a team hitting .307.  Hannah Duchene is 10-6 with a 2.55 ERA in the circle as Concordia pitchers allow teams to hit .282 against them.

Scouting Rochester (Mich.): The Warriors enter the week having dropped nine straight following 7-1 and 14-3 setbacks to Cleary on Monday.  Rochester hosts Siena Heights on Wednesday before heading to Lourdes.  Lauren Donaldson leads Rochester batting .389 for a team hitting .200 overall.  Payton Parrish sports an 8.52 ERA in the circle while teams are batting .467 against the Warriors.

Scouting Cornerstone: The Golden Eagles have been idle since being swept at Aquinas 6-5 and 5-2 on April 5 and have lost three straight overall.  Cornerstone hosts Michigan-Dearborn on Friday and plays at Madonna on Saturday before hosting Lourdes.  Jolie Groeneveld is hitting .338 with two home runs and has 13 RBI while Mackenzie Nagelhout is also batting .338 with two homers and 18 RBI for a team hitting .265 overall.  In the circle, Kaitlin Johnson has logged the most innings for Cornerstone, sporting a 3.75 earned run average on a pitching staff that is allowing the opposition to hit .329 against them.

Lots of Weather Issues This Season: Lourdes enters the week having had 19 games either postponed or cancelled this season due to weather.  Seven of the contests were non-conference tilts that will not be made up.  The Gray Wolves have already had six Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference twinbills affected by the weather.  The Michigan-Dearborn and Indiana Tech doubleheaders have already been made up while the games against Concordia (Mich.) and Cornerstone are slated to be played this week.  The home games against Northwestern Ohio have been rescheduled for April 21 while Lourdes will head to Aquinas on April 26.

Smith Has Solid Week in the Circle: Kirsten Smith went 3-0 in the circle for Lourdes last week, coming within one-third of an inning of three complete games.  The freshman registered a 0.71 ERA in the three victories, striking out 21 in 19.2 innings of work.  Smith allowed just 11 total hits.

Richardson Heats Up at the Plate: Megan Richardson has swung a hot bat over the last three games.  She is 5-for-8 (.625) while drawing four walks during the span.  She also scored four times and drove in three.

Quite a Freshman Season: Brooke Albert has made the most of her rookie season thus far.  One of just four Gray Wolves to start all 21 games, she leads Lourdes in batting average at .354, hits with 23, doubles with nine, and is tied for the team lead with 12 runs batted in.  Defensively she has yet to commit an error as well.

Streaking: Ashleigh Riffle has the longest current hitting streak for the Gray Wolves entering the week at seven consecutive games.  Emily Wallace has reached base in 12 consecutive contests, but had her 11-game hitting streak snapped in game two against Lawrence Tech.  Riffle and Megan Richardson have both reached base safely in 10 straight games.  

This and That: Megan Richardson hit her team-leading second home run against Lawrence Tech ... Richardson and Annalisse Palma have both scored a team-high 17 runs ... Palma also has nine stolen bases ... Palma and Brooke Albert both have six multi-hit games this season.