ADRIAN, Mich. – The Lourdes baseball team (14-29, 8-18 in WHAC) split their Friday afternoon doubleheader with the Siena Heights Saints (13-32, 9-17 in WHAC) on the road in Adrian, Michigan.

The four game series is a crucial regular season finale as the winner will likely make the final spot in the WHAC Tournament as the conference's 8^th-seed.

The split keeps Lourdes' tournament hopes alive. The Gray Wolves are currently in 10^th place in the league, Siena Heights is a game above them in 9^th, and Cornerstone is in 8^th place, but has the same record as the Saints.

Lourdes needs to beat Siena Heights in both games tomorrow afternoon to have a shot at the 8-seed. Cornerstone would also have to not go 2-0 against Madonna.

Game 1: L,  4-5
Game one against the Saints was a back-and-forth affair that unfortunately led to Lourdes losing by one. Ace pitchers' Brenden Holland (Lourdes) and Dayton Stamper (SHU) each threw six strong innings on the mound in the game.

Lourdes struck first in the top half of the 4^th when a Landon Brown double knocked in Alex Dupree from second base. Siena Heights struck back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI-single and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 lead.

Lourdes took the lead right back in the 6^th inning when Jace Bloomer hit an RBI-single, followed up by a Will Brose RBI-fielder's choice.

The 3-2 lead was extended by one on a Brad Hughes RBI-single in the 7^th inning off of Saints' relief pitcher Pearson Mendiuk.

Down two runs in the last inning, Siena Heights made a three-run comeback that ultimately prolonged their postseason hopes for another day. Three singles in a row started off the inning, leading to cutting the deficit to one run. Then, Mac Melvin scored two runs for the Saints on a sacrifice bunt that was overthrown by Alex Dupree. The miscue gave the Saints the win and a brief two game lead over Lourdes in the WHAC.

Game 2: W, 10-3
The Gray Wolves forgot all about game one's disappointing end in game two, crushing the ball for 15 hits and 10 runs in the victory.

The first inning set the tone for the game when Jase Kennedy and Andrew Arnston each hit RBI singles to make it 3-0. Kennedy then hit another RBI-single in the 4^th inning to extend the lead to 4-0.

A few innings and a couple runs later, Alex Dupree hit a clutch two-RBI double in the 6^th to take a 6-1 lead. Will Brose then scored on a wild pitch in the 7^th as the lead was extended to 7-1.

A lightning storm stopped the game prior to going into the 8^th as Lourdes' starter Landen Vance was forced out of the game. Vance threw his statistically-best game of the season with seven innings, five hits, one earned run, and four strikeouts, for his third victory of the year.

Post-lightning storm, Zane Mullins came in to close the door in the final two innings as Lourdes pulled away with a seven-run victory.

Next Up
Lourdes plays Siena Heights tomorrow afternoon at 1pm and 4pm in a doubleheader that could send one team to the conference tournament. Once again, the Gray Wolves will have to win both games against Siena Heights to make the 8-seed.