Lourdes earned its first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep of the season on Wednesday, downing Rochester 4-3 in eight innings in game one before notching an 8-1 win in game two at Jaycee Field in Rochester Hills, Mich.
In the opener, the Gray Wolves took advantage of seven Rochester errors in the game. An unearned run in the second put Lourdes on the scoreboard, only to see the Warriors tie the game in the fourth. Another miscue plated an unearned run in the top of the fifth, but Rochester responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-2 lead into the sixth.
Lourdes tied the game on a triple by
Emily Wallace (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood H.S.) in the sixth, eventually forcing extra innings. In the eighth, Wallace delivered again, scoring pinch-runner
Mallori Bradley (Zanesville, Ohio/Maysville H.S.) with what proved to be the winning run.
Milena Applegate (Jerome, Mich./Lumen Christi H.S.) earned the win (2-5) in the circle with four scoreless innings of relief, scattering just three hits.
Wallace and
Sam Stimmel (Macomb, Mich./L'anse Creuse North H.S.) each had two of the Gray Wolves' six hits in the opener.
In game two, Lourdes started the offense quickly. A stolen base and a double by
Brooke Albert (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights H.S.) gave Lourdes a 2-0 lead after one before an unearned tally increased the lead to three in the second.
Kirsten Smith (Marysville, Mich./Marysville H.S.) singled home another run in the third before Rochester (2-14, 0-10 WHAC) scored its lone run in the fourth.
A three-run fifth was highlighted by a pair of unearned runs and a RBI single off the bat of
Annalisse Palma (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview H.S.) before Bradley singled home the Gray Wolves' final run in the seventh.
Palma went 3-for-4 in the nightcap while Wallace, Albert, and Bradley each had two hits as part of a 12-hit attack.
Smith went the distance in the circle for the win (2-6), allowing just one unearned run and eight hits while striking out 11 Warriors.
Lourdes (8-20, 3-9) remains on the road Thursday afternoon for a doubleheader in Adrian, Mich. First pitch in game one against Siena Heights is set for 3:30 p.m. at Christensen Field.
