The Dominican University softball teams posted a pair of comeback victories over the Edgewood College Eagles on Thursday afternoon, taking game one 8-3 before rallying to win the nightcap 6-4. The Stars now stand at 12-4 on the season and 6-0 in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC), having won 11 out of their last 12 contests after starting the season 1-3.

Jori Cicale (Steger, Ill.) staked the Stars to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI double to the left-center gap to score Melissa Summaria (Algonquin, Ill.) who reached on an infield single with two outs. Summaria then stole second before reaching third on a wild pitch.

After cruising through the first three innings, Cicale ran into trouble in the top of the fourth on the mound for the Stars. After back-to-back one-out singles, Jessica Spitzer ripped a home run over the centerfield fence to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

The lead was short-lived for the Eagles as Summaria again started a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning with an infield single. After Gina Palumbo (Northlake, Ill.) singled, Cicale ripped an RBI single to right. After Nicole Foley (Chicago, Ill.) drew a walk to load the bases for Jessica Honeycutt (Peru, Ind.) looped a two-run single to left-center to give the Stars a 4-3 advantage after four innings.

The Stars tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, two coming on a two-run homer off the bat of sophomore Emily Mahoney (Crystal Lake, Ill.) after Sarah Budz (Orland Park, Ill.) drew a leadoff walk to start the frame.

Dominican added an insurance run in the sixth to take the opener 8-3. Cicale led the way for the Stars, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of runs batted in. On the mound, the Stars’ ace improved to 5-1, tossing seven innings and allowing three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out nine.

The Stars jumped out to an early lead in game two, taking advantage of an Edgewood error in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 advantage. The Eagles answered in the top of the fourth, scoring four runs on five hits and two Dominican errors to take a 4-1 lead.

Dominican cut the Eagles’ lead to 4-3 in the bottom half of the fourth inning, as Mahoney scored on a double by Summaria after Budz drew a leadoff walk.

The Stars then reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Kristen Look (Frankfort, Ill.) drew a two-out walk ahead of Budz. Budz then put the Stars on top, blasting her team-leading fifth home run of the season, a towering drive over the centerfield fence. Mahoney followed with a single and then scored on a double by Andrea Pinarski (Goshen, Ind.).

Mahoney picked up the win in the circle in game two for the Stars. The sophomore right-hander improves to 6-3 on the season, throwing her fourth complete-game, scattering six hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Five different players accounted for the Stars’ five hits in the contest.

Dominican will enjoy a day off on Friday before opening a stretch of eight games in four days with a doubleheader against the Concordia Chicago Cougars on Saturday. First pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m. at the Stars’ home field in Forest Park.