Lourdes opened the 2023 season on Saturday afternoon with a 20-10 victory in game one of a doubleheader against Pikeville before dropping game two 14-4 in a game called on account of darkness in the sixth inning at Johnny LeMaster Field in Pikeville, Ky.
 
"In game one, Wyatt (Smith) settled in and was able to give us five innings," head coach Josh Bradford said afterwards.  "We got into their bullpen and had a ton of quality at bats.  In game two, we got off to a rough start on the mound and was just not able to recover."
 
After surrendering three runs in the opening inning, Lourdes bats came alive in the fifth.  The Gray Wolves scored five times, including a two-run double by Harrison Jackson (Millbury, Ohio/Lake H.S.) that gave Lourdes the lead.  Pikeville tied the game in the bottom of the fifth before the Gray Wolves jumped in front for good in the sixth.
 
Lourdes sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six times in the sixth inning, including a two-run single by Steve Haugh (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne H.S.).  The Bears scored two in the seventh which Lourdes answered in the top of the eight and added three more in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Gray Wolf advantage to 13-10.
 
The Gray Wolves broke the game open in the ninth, scoring seven times with 12 batters coming to the plate in the inning.
 
Haugh drove in five runs in the opener while Jackson had four more RBI.  Joel Suraganan (Pickerington, Ont./Dunbarton H.S.) had four hits while Jackson and Ryan Jagodzinski (Perrysburg, Ohio/Rossford H.S.) had three hits each as part of a 17-hit attack.
 
Noah Helton homered twice in the opener for Pikeville, on his way to a five RBI game.
 
Wyatt Smith (Sycamore, Ohio/Wynford H.S.) went five innings to earn the win (1-0), allowing four earned runs and seven hits while striking out five.
 
In game two, Lourdes scored a run in the top of the first on a RBI single by Haugh.  Pikeville responded with six in the bottom of the frame, as the first five batters walked.  The Bears scored six runs without a hit in the first inning to take the lead for good. 
 
The hosts plated two more in the second and added a pair of runs in the third.  Lourdes finally got on the scoreboard again in the sixth, scoring three times, one on an error, one on a walk, and one on a sac fly.  Pikeville responded with four in the bottom of the sixth before the game was called with one out in the inning on account of darkness.
 
Each team had just six hits in game two, but Pikeville took advantage of 16 Lourdes walks in the contest.
 
Anderson Strunk (New Baltimore, Mich./Algonac H.S.) started and took the loss (0-1), walking the five hitters he faced, all of whom scored.
 
Lourdes (1-1) and Pikeville (4-3) will conclude their four-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon with another twinbill.  Game one is set for a noon start at Johnny LeMaster Field.