Taking advantage of nice weather at Gray Wolf Field, Lourdes opened its season earlier than planned on Wednesday afternoon, falling in both games of a doubleheader 10-1 and 1-0 to sixth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan.
 
"We were thankful to have the opportunity to get on the field and play before heading to Florida," head coach Caitlin Blanchard said afterwards.  "We had an chance to see a lot of our newcomers in action and learn what we need to work on moving forward."
 
Indiana Wesleyan jumped on the scoreboard in the opening inning of game one and added four more in the second to take an early 5-0 lead.  Five more runs came across in the fifth, four of which were unearned.
 
Lourdes scored its lone run in the bottom of the fifth as Annalisse Palma (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview H.S.) doubled and scored on a RBI single by Brooke Albert (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights H.S.).
 
Palma finished the opener 3-for-3 at the plate as the Gray Wolves tallied five hits in total.
 
In game two, Kirsten Smith (Marysville, Mich./Marysville H.S.) kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard through four innings before Indiana Wesleyan (5-1) broke through with two in the fifth and two more in the sixth.  The visitors broke the game open with a seven-run seventh inning.
 
Emily Wallace (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood H.S.) had two hits in the nightcap as part of a six-hit effort for the Gray Wolves.  Smith struck out six in the circle.
 
Lourdes (0-2) will head south to the Sunshine State for 12 games beginning on Sunday.  The Gray Wolves will face Florida National at 11:30 a.m. and Saint Thomas at 4:30 p.m. at Launch Pad Sports Complex in Cocoa, Fla.