GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles are set to play their final regular season series of the year, as they will host Lourdes on Wednesday for a double-header starting at 5 p.m. before traveling to Lourdes for a single nine-inning game on Friday at 1 p.m. The weather has once again been a factor, as the entire series was originally scheduled to all be played at Lourdes, but due to high rain chances, the double-header has been moved to De Witt Field. Live stats and video are available for all games on cugoldeneagles.com.

Scouting Lourdes
In the program's sixth year of existence, Lourdes has struggled to get above .500, posting just an 11-33, 7-23 WHAC record. The Gray Wolves are out of conference tournament contention, but they have posted a strong finish to the season, sweeping Rochester College in a three game set last time out. Similarly to Cornerstone, Lourdes is very young with just six seniors on the roster. Individually, Lourdes has seen some balance offensively as Devin Stanley, Dallas Riggs, and Glen Crabtree are all batting over .300 with 45 or more hits. Lourdes pitching has been a big issue this season, as they have thrown 20 different arms this season to try and figure out a solution. LU has given up a 356 runs as a staff this season, with their best starter being Zach Brown who is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA on the year. 
 
History vs. the Gray Wolves
Both Cornerstone and Lourdes have relatively new programs, as Lourdes is in their sixth year and Cornerstone is in their fifth year. LU has just managed to have the edge though, as CU has gone just 7-9 vs. the Gray Wolves in their history.  Last season, Cornerstone and Lourdes split a four game series at De Witt field as CU lost 7-3 and 5-7 on the first day of the series and rebounded to win 1-0 and 7-3 on day two.
 
Scheduling Change
Inclement weather has once again played a toll on scheduling changes for the final series of the regular season. CU will now play host to Lourdes on Wednesday, May 3 at 5 p.m. for a double-header before traveling to Lourdes on Friday, may 5 for a single nine-inning game starting at 1 p.m.
 
Last Week Recap
Cornerstone played four games last week and went 1-3 with a 12-6 win at Spring Arbor and three consecutive losses vs. receiving votes Davenport, falling 8-1, 8-0, and 4-1 over the weekend. Despite the conference losses, the Golden Eagles still sit just ahead of Siena Heights and Aquinas for the sixth and final playoff spot in the WHAC. Overall, CU holds a 22-27, 13-15 conference record as they prepare to close out the regular season with a must win series at Lourdes on Thursday and Friday.
 
Bigger than Baseball
The Golden Eagles not only celebrated senior day this past weekend, but also put on a Love for Lana Cancer Game. A group of Cornerstone students came up with the idea to host a Love for Lana Cancer Game with the purpose of raising money to support Operation Transformation, a nonprofit organization that serves to meet the needs of people in the Port Huron community. The idea arose in support of Port Huron native  and Cornerstone senior outfielder Evan Wagner, whose mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just last year. Thanks to the support of the Grand Rapids community, CU was able to raise $550 for Operation Transformation through T-shirt sales and donations at Saturday's double-header vs. Davenport. Cornerstone also saw record attendance numbers during the series with the Panthers, as they hosted the event.
 
Struggles vs. the top of the WHAC
The Golden Eagles have come so close multiple times, but have been unable to come away with any wins vs. the top five teams in the WHAC this season. Cornerstone has gone 0-13 vs. the teams that currently sit one through five in the conference standings. Of those 13 losses, six of them have been by three runs or less.

Abbadusky to Leave with Multiple Records
Senior outfielder Jonny Abbadusky is winding down his career, setting the bar high for the future of the Cornerstone Baseball program, with single season and career records since the 2013 restart of the program in multiple statistical categories. Abbadusky this season already has locked in the single season program record for batting average (currently .418), on base percentage (currently .517), hits (71), runs (45), and total bases (88). Abbadusky also currently leads and could hold the single season record for on base percentage and slugging percentage if he continues his high level of play. Not only is Abbadusky a single season record holder, but he is a career record holder in multiple categories including stolen bases (81), hits (191), runs (129), and total bases (243). Abbadusky is one of very few four-year starters in the five-year-old program, and he looks to finish his career strong in the final regular season series of the year against Lourdes.
 
The Future Looks Bright
The future of Cornerstone is looking very bright, as multiple freshman and sophomores have been solid in big roles this season. Freshman Brady Eeles and Jarod Burton have both been solid at the plate in their first year, as Eeles is hitting .346 and started in all 49 games while Burton is hitting .288 with a team best four HR's in his 47 games. Freshman pitcher Daniel Abbgy has been stellar out of the bullpen as of late, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in eight appearances.
 
Young's Strong Stretch
Starter Collin Young has gone from good to great in his last few outings. Most recently, Young did a great job of slowing down the high-powered offense of receiving votes Davenport allowing just one run through the first six innings. It was not until the seventh when he was charged with two more earned runs after exciting with runners on base. Young leads all starters in ERA this season at 3.19.
 
Baseball Contact: Jesse Campbell 
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