TOLEDO, Ohio (LourdesAthletics.com) -- Lourdes University continued its impressive midseason turnaround on Saturday at Mercy Field, taking the opener 5-2 against Rochester Christian Christian to secure its sixth straight victory before falling 7-1 in the nightcap. After starting the year 0-15, the Gray Wolves have earned six wins in the last eight showings and now sit at 8-8 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play with just under a month left in the regular season.
Game 1: Lourdes 5, Rochester Christian 2
Lourdes opened the doubleheader with a strong all-around performance in a 5-2 victory over Rochester Christian to stretch its win streak to six games. The Gray Wolves pushed across two runs in the third inning as Alex Dupree delivered a two-out, two-run single up the middle, scoring Nick DiGennaro and Joel Suraganan.
After the Warriors evened the game in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer, Lourdes responded with a three-run frame in the home half. Suraganan reached on a fielder's choice that brought home a run and advanced another on an error. Jase Kennedy followed with an RBI double to left, and DiGennaro capped the inning with a sacrifice fly that gave Lourdes a 5-2 lead.
That was more than enough support for pitcher Caleb Loboschefski, who tossed a complete-game two-hitter to earn his first win of the season (1-3). The right-hander struck out 11 while walking four over 114 pitches, allowing just the fourth-inning home run as his only damage.
Suraganan and Kennedy each tallied two hits, while Dupree drove in a pair. DiGennaro added a sac fly and a stolen base in the win.
Game 2: Lourdes 7, Rochester Christian 1
The team managed nine hits in the nightcap of Sunday's doubleheader but was unable to capitalize offensively, dropping a 7-1 decision to the visiting Warriors.
The Gray Wolves jumped on the board early in the bottom of the first, as Jase Kennedy drove in A.J. Brinson with a single up the middle to give Lourdes a 1-0 lead. Despite threatening in multiple innings, Lourdes left 13 runners on base and was held scoreless the rest of the way.
Rochester Christian (3-17) responded in the third with an RBI groundout to tie the game. In the fourth, the Warriors delivered a two-run home run to left, putting the visitors in front for good. A four-run sixth inning extended the lead, highlighted by RCU's RBI double and a sequence that included three consecutive run-scoring hits. A visiting runner later stole third and scored on the throw to make it 7-1.
Brinson led Lourdes (7-21) with a pair of hits, including a double, while Kennedy, Andrew Arntson, and Caleb Edwards-Dugan also recorded multi-hit performances. The Gray Wolves out-hit Rochester Christian 9-7 but couldn't string together timely offense.
Austin Nuhfer (1-2) took the loss, allowing three runs over five innings while striking out six. The Lourdes bullpen combined for four innings of relief, with Riley McKinnon tossing a scoreless ninth.
B. Masterson (2-5) earned the win for Rochester Christian, striking out nine over seven innings, while K. Butcher picked up the save with two scoreless frames.
Up Next:
Lourdes returns to WHAC action on Wednesday, April 9, as the Gray Wolves host Cleary University in a doubleheader at Mercy Field. First pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m., with game two to follow at approximately 4 p.m. The twinbill is a makeup from the originally scheduled April 2 matchup.
