GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (LourdesAthletics.com) – The Lourdes University baseball team earned its first two victories of the 2025 season, sweeping a road doubleheader against Cornerstone University on Friday, March 21, at DeWitt Field. The Gray Wolves took game one 10-8 and secured a 5-4 win in game two.
Game 1: Lourdes 10, Cornerstone (MI) 8
The Gray Wolves (2-15) put together a dominant offensive display in the late innings to edge out Cornerstone (2-19) in the opener. Lourdes trailed 6-1 after four innings but plated seven runs in the fifth and one each in the last two frames to claim a 10-8 win.
Starting pitcher Austin Nuhfer tossed 3.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. Riley McKinnon appeared for 0.2 of an inning, facing four batters and allowing two hits. Ryan Butler earned the win with a solid 1.0-inning relief effort, striking out two and allowing one run. Landen Vance earned the save, going 2.0 innings with three strikeouts and allowing just one run.
Lourdes' offense came alive in the late innings. Drake Sekinger hit a double and drove in two RBIs, while Jase Kennedy added two hits, including a double and two RBIs. Joel Suraganan also contributed two hits, including a double, and drove in one.
Game 2: Lourdes 6, Cornerstone (MI) 4
Lourdes picked up a dramatic 5-4 victory in the nightcap against Cornerstone. Despite a late comeback attempt from Cornerstone, the Gray Wolves held on for the win, improving their record to 2-15 on the season.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, with Cornerstone striking first in the second inning on a pair of RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead. Lourdes responded in the sixth inning, starting with Caleb Edwards-Dugan's RBI single up the middle to score Andrew Arntson. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Edwards-Dugan to advance to second, and Joel Suraganan came home to tie the game at 2-2.
Lourdes' Nick DiGennaro put the Gray Wolves ahead in the seventh with a solo home run, but Cornerstone responded quickly in the bottom of the inning, driving in two runs to retake a 4-3 lead. However, Lourdes sealed the win in the ninth inning with another two-run blast, this time by Arntson, who sent a towering home run over the fence to score A.J. Brinson and put Lourdes ahead for good at 5-4.