ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- The University of Michigan-Dearborn baseball team opened up WHAC play this weekend with a two-game series against Cleary and Aquinas. The Wolverines traveled to Howell on Saturday (Mar. 16) to play the Cougars and finished at home on a chilly St. Patrick's Day against the Saints. 

The Wolverine pitching staff struggled on the weekend, giving up 48 runs in four games and surrendering double-digit runs in all four games. UM-Dearborn raced out to a 5-0 lead in game one on Saturday, thanks to an RBI double from Matthew Williams and a pair of RBI singles from Max McLennan. Walks plagued the Wolverines in the contest as they surrendered 14 free passes to the Cougars. Those walks helped the Cougars score 10 unanswered runs to win 10-5.

On Sunday, the Wolverines were down 6-0 after three complete innings. They scored at least one run in the final four innings of the contest but still fell 11-6. In the back end of the doubleheader, neither team could garner full control of the game until the final inning. After taking an early 2-0 lead, the Wolverines saw their lead erased by the end of the second. Now trailing 5-2 after the third, the Wolverines slowly chipped away at the lead thanks to starter Luis Gallardo throwing five scoreless frames after surrendering five runs in the first three innings. Gallardo threw eight innings, scattering six hits and a trio of walks to go with a season-high six punchouts.

The Saints would eventually explode for six runs in the top of the ninth and take the victory 11-6.