Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Baseball: Lourdes opens its 12th season of intercollegiate baseball this weekend.  The Gray Wolves travel to Kentucky to face Pikeville for a four-game series with doubleheaders against the Bears on both Saturday and Sunday.

Head Coach Josh Bradford: In his fourth season in the Lourdes dugout, Josh Bradford has a 50-56 (.472) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves, as well as in his career as a collegiate head coach.  He is the third head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Probable Starters: Wyatt Smith (RHP, 1-1, 6.31 in 2022) will be handed the baseball to get things going for the Gray Wolves on Saturday while Anderson Strunk (LHP, 2-4, 8.68 in 2022) will to the rubber in game two.  On Sunday, Bryn Biemiller (RHP, 0-2, 6.91 in 2022) is scheduled to start the opener of the twinbill while Joey Oehlers (5-3, 5.59 in 2022) will be handed the baseball in game two.

Series Notes: Pikeville holds a 2-0 all-time series advantage against Lourdes dating back to March 11, 2014.  The Bears swept a doubleheader on that date in Pikeville, Ky. by scores of 12-6 and 11-6.

Wrapping Up 2022: Lourdes finished over .500 for the first time in program history last season, posting a school record 25 victories.  The Gray Wolves finished the year 25-22 overall and 9-13 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, placing eighth.  Lourdes did not qualify for the WHAC tournament.

Scouting Pikeville: The Bears enter the weekend series having won three straight games after scoring a 20-7 win at home against Johnson on Tuesday afternoon.  Noah Helton leads Pikeville offensively in the early going with a .529 batting average.  He has already hit four home runs and driven in 13 runs.  Kyle Williams is hitting .474 on the young season with five RBI.  On the mound, Ethan Cernohous has tossed 5.2 scoreless innings over two outings and has a victory while Kameron Broudeur has tossed a team-high six innings without a decision and has struck out five.

Returning Award Winners: Lourdes had a pair of players named to the WHAC Gold Glove Team in 2022, both of whom return this season.  Harrison Jackson earned the honors in the outfield.  He was flawless on the season with 85 putouts and three outfield assists in 88 total chances.  Joey Oehlers also earned Gold Glove accolades as a pitcher and outfielder.  He has 62 putouts and 21 assists in 83 total chances without committing an error.

Gray Wolves Tabbed Eighth in WHAC Preseason Poll: Lourdes was picked to finish eighth in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference in the 2023 preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  The Gray Wolves were slotted just behind Cornerstone and just ahead of Aquinas.  Northwestern Ohio was tabbed as the preseason favorite.

Lourdes in Season Openers: The Gray Wolves improved to 5-6 all-time in season openers after defeating Bethel (Ind.) in the 2022 season opener, 6-2.  Lourdes has now won four its last five season openers dating back to 2018, with the 2021 opening loss to Truett McConnell as the lone setback in the stretch.  Lourdes is 2-4 in season openers when playing a true road game.

First Winning Season Ever: Lourdes finished last year over .500 (25-22) for the first time in program  history.  The only previous time the Gray Wolves had even finished a year at the .500 mark was in 202 when Lourdes went 7-7 in the COVID-19 shortened campaign.

Top Returning Offensive Threats: Steve Haugh led Lourdes in hitting last season and returns for his senior season after batting .329 in 2022.  He had a team-high six home runs and drove in 37 runs while tallying 48 hits.  Matt McEachern and Ryan Jagodzinski are both back after batting .309 and .298 respectively.  

On the Mound: Joey Oehlers led Lourdes with five victories during the 2022 campaign while Jake Boyd and Caleb Loboschefski each had four wins.  Oehlers through a team-high 48.1 innings and Loboschefski struck out a team best 37 hitters.  Braden Zuber also returns this season after tallying two of the team's five saves one year ago.

Streaking: Harrison Jackson enters the season with a six-game hitting streak from the end of last season.  He is the only Gray Wolf on the roster that has a streak in tact.    

Swiping Bases: Harrison Jackson led Lourdes on the base paths last season, stealing nine bases in 10 attempts.  As a team, the Gray Wolves went 42-for-51 in stolen base attempts.

This and That: Lourdes enters the season 165-297-1 all-time through the first 11 seasons of intercollegiate baseball ... the Gray Wolves are 56-154-1 in true road tames ... Lourdes is 17-15 all-time in extra inning affairs after going 3-1 last season ... the Gray Wolves play their first 11 games away from home and 25 of their first 29 overall.