Lourdes bats came alive on Monday morning in Melbourne, Fla. as the Gray Wolves won their first two games of the season, defeating Park 13-2 before coming from behind to defeat Fort Lauderdale 8-7 in eight innings.
 
"It was good to see everyone contribute in game one," head coach Caitlin Blanchard said afterwards.  "We were solid all the way around and Kirsten pitched a good game.  The defense made the plays we needed to and we had production all the way through our lineup.  Game two we found a way to win.  We had a lot of defensive miscues but our offensive production led to the victory.  I'm proud of how we battled all day."
 
The Gray Wolves pounded out 16 hits against Park (9-4) in just five innings.
 
Annalisse Palma (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview H.S.) put the Gray Wolves in front with an inside-the-park home runs just two batters into the game and Maddie Darrah (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) added a RBI single in the opening inning.
 
After the Pirates answered with a run in the bottom of the first, Lourdes erupted for six in the second.  Brooke Albert (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights H.S.) doubled home two and Megan Richardson (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) singled home two more as part of a seven-hit attack in the frame.
 
Olivia Hickman (Trenton, Mich./Trenton H.S.) had a two-run double as part of a three-run third as the Gray Wolves increased the lead to 11-2.  Lourdes would tack on single runs in the fourth and fifth while Park scored once in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Albert went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Hickman was 2-for-2 with three RBI in the win.  Darrah also had three hits while Palma and Emily Wallace (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood H.S.) each tallied two hits.
 
Kirsten Smith (Marysville, Mich./Marysville H.S.) picked up the win (1-3), allowing the two runs and seven hits while fanning one while going the distance in the circle.
 
Fort Lauderdale (6-18) scored single runs in each of the first three innings in building a 3-1 lead.  Lourdes exploded for five runs in the fourth inning, three of which were unearned as the Gray Wolves capitalized on an Eagles' error. 
 
The Eagles answered with four in the sixth to pull in front 7-6, taking advantage of a pair of Lourdes errors, two of five in the game for the Gray Wolves.  Lourdes would tie the game in the bottom of the sixth though, as Palma drew a one-out walk, stole second, and took third on Albert's single.  Hickman hit a sacrifice fly to right, evening the game at seven.
 
In the eighth, Berlynn Keller (Ottawa Lake, Mich./Whiteford H.S.), who picked up her first collegiate victory (1-1) in the circle, set Fort Lauderdale down in order, despite inheriting a runner on second due to the international tie-breaker.  Keller logged six innings in relief, allowing three earned runs and four hits while striking out two.
 
Megan Richardson (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) took second to start the bottom of the eighth and moved to third on a passed ball.  Elizabeth Valdez (Toledo, Ohio/Start H.S.) singled up the middle to score the winning run.
 
Valdez went 3-for-4 in game two as did Richardson while Katie Devine (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green H.S.) added two more hits as part of an 11-hit attack.
 
Lourdes (2-4) returns to the diamond in Melbourne on Tuesday as the Gray Wolves face Keiser at 11:30 a.m. and Trinity Christian at 2 p.m.