Lourdes climbed back to the .500 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Friday afternoon with a sweep of Rochester (Mich.), 6-2 and 4-3, at Gray Wolf Field.
 
"I'm really glad that we were able to get our first WHAC sweep of the year today," head coach Caitlin Blanchard said afterwards.  "We didn't play our best softball today, but we had several moments of selfless softball that helped us get the victories.  We executed some of the little things like sac bunts, sac flies, calming down and making the next play after an error, and executing with pinch-hit at bats.  It was a solid team victory today.  We just need to keep finding creative ways to win the rest of the season."
 
The Gray Wolves started quickly in the opener, scoring in each of the first four innings.  Annalisse Palma (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview H.S.) led off the game with a triple and scored one batter later on a Megan Richardson (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) sacrifice fly.  In the second, Elizabeth Chagolla (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) singled home Ella Leonard (Lorain, Ohio/Midview H.S.) to make it 2-0 Lourdes.
 
Emily Wallace (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood H.S.) doubled home Richardson in the third and scored herself one batter later on Brooke Albert's (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights H.S.) triple.  Albert crossed the plate two matters later on a sacrifice fly by Leonard to make it 5-0 Lourdes.
 
Richardson increased the lead to 6-0 in the fourth with a run-scoring double that plated Palma.
 
Kirsten Smith (Marysville, Mich./Marysville H.S.) carried a shutout into the fifth when the Warriors finally broke through.  The visitors added another run in the sixth, but that would be all they would get against Smith, as she struck out three and yielded just seven hits in the complete game win (7-6).
 
The Gray Wolves had to play from behind in game two.  Rochester scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fourth to take the early lead.  Lourdes answered immediately as Albert doubled home Wallace and scored herself on a RBI single by Abby Cantrell (Gibsonburg, Ohio/Gibsonburg H.S.) to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
 
Lourdes took the lead in the sixth.  Wallace led off with a single and went all the way to third on a sac bunt by Albert.  Sophia Dauterman (Toledo, Ohio/Whiteford H.S.) singled Wallace home to give the Gray Wolves the lead.  Later in the inning, Leonard delivered a pinch-hit double to plate Cantrell, who had three hits in game two, with what proved to be an important insurance run.
 
Rochester (2-17, 0-12 WHAC) scored a run in the top of the seventh but stranded the tying run as Ashley Roth (LaRue, Ohio/Elgin H.S.) went the distance for the victory (1-3) in the circle.  She allowed just one earned run and five hits while fanning three.
 
Lourdes (11-14, 6-6) returns to the diamond on Monday afternoon as the Gray Wolves travel to Grand Rapids, Mich. to face Cornerstone.  First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 3:30 p.m. at the Cornerstone Softball Field.