Extra Innings Unkind to Cougars in Doubleheader Losses

(Howell, MI) -- The Cleary Cougars Baseball team took on the Lourdes University Gray Wolves on a gloomy afternoon today. 

In Game 1: The Gray Wolves came out hot, scoring three runs in the top of the second inning, which included back-to-back triples. The Cougars would get shut down through the first three innings but were able to bounce back with a three-run inning of their own in the fourth. Austin Vincent kicked it off with an RBI single that scored Braylon Hughes. Gavin Kempainen then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that scored Zach Agemak from third base. The final run of the inning would come on a wild pitch, where Austin Vincent would advance to third from second, keep going, and score. Lourdes retook the lead at 4-3 in the fifth inning off a solo home run. The game remained 4-3 with the Cougars looking for late hope. Brendan Seman would come up with a clutch single that scored Gavin Kempainen and tied the ballgame 4-4. The game would head to extra innings, where Lourdes would take a 6-4 lead off a two-out, two-RBI double. Braylon Hughes would lead off the bottom half of the inning with a double but would not score as the Cougars got shut down, and Lourdes would walk away with the win. 

Haden Fisk got the start on the mound for the Cougars and finished with a final stat line of 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 0 BB, and 7 SO. Braylon Hughes would finish 3-4 with two doubles and a run scored at the plate. 

In Game 2: Lourdes kicked the game off with a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, however, that lead wouldn't last long as the Cougars scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Brendan Seman got the scoring started with a two-RBI triple that scored Gavin Kempainen and Conner Boone. Ryan Rose followed it up with a triple of his own that scored Brendan Seman. He then scored when Brodie Mackay singled up the middle. The Gray Wolves tied it up in the third with three runs of their own, and then took a 5-4 lead in the fifth. With the Cougars needing a run in the seventh, Joey Parinello was able to come up clutch with an RBI single to center field. The Cougars and Gray Wolves headed to extra innings once again, and Lourdes would score one run to take the lead. With a runner on second and one out in the inning, the Cougars were unable to score and would be sent home with a 6-5 loss. 

Will Roberts got the start on the mound for the Cougars and had a final stat line of 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, and 6 SO. Brendan Semans' RBI triple in the first inning pushed him to 61 total hits on the season, a new single-season record, which has been held by Reid Beffrey (60) since 2017. 

The Cougars drop to 21-23 and 11-13 in WHAC Conference play. The Cougars head into next weekend with WHAC Playoff implications on the line. They will take on the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) on Saturday, April 26, at Lake Trust Stadium to kick off their final regular season weekend. First pitch for the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 PM.