SYLVANIA, Ohio (LourdesAthletics.com) --Â The Lourdes University softball team split a dramatic Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference doubleheader with Cornerstone University on Friday afternoon at Gray Wolf Field, walking off the opener 6-5 in 10 innings before dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker in game two.
Game 1: Lourdes 6, Cornerstone 5 (10 innings)
The Gray Wolves outlasted the Golden Eagles in a 10-inning thriller to open the afternoon. Lourdes rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and overcame a three-run sixth inning by Cornerstone to tie the game and eventually walk it off in extras.
Trailing 2-0, Lourdes pulled even in the third when Maddie Darrah delivered a two-run double, scoring Lindsey McGann and Jessyca Smith. The Gray Wolves took the lead an inning later as Robyn Ryan singled home Lauren Schuller.
Cornerstone surged back with a three-run sixth, taking a 5-3 lead. Lourdes responded in the home half, scoring twice—highlighted by Ryan's RBI triple—to knot the game at five.
In the bottom of the 10th, with the bases loaded, Jessyca Smith reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Schuller with the game-winning run.
Ryan finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a triple. Darrah, Alyssa Goretzka, and Taylor Leggins all added multi-hit efforts, while Lourdes pounded out 13 team hits.
Mallori Bradley (3-3) earned the win, tossing all 10 innings while scattering eight hits and striking out four without issuing a walk.
Game 2: Cornerstone 3, Lourdes 2
Cornerstone bounced back in the second game, using a three-run fifth inning to edge Lourdes in a tight contest.
The Gray Wolves got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, when Jessyca Smith laced a two-run double that brought home Ava Auler and Robyn Ryan, trimming the deficit to 3-2.
Smith finished with two of Lourdes' five hits in the game. Auler, Goretzka, and Taylor Leggins each recorded singles.
Kirsten Smith (2-5) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over 4.2 innings. Karlei Conrad closed the game with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
