Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FOREST PARK, Ill. – The Dominican University softball team wouldn’t go down easy against the visiting Eagles of Benedictine University, but dropped both games to last year’s Northern Athletics Conference tournament champs. The losses put their record at 12-14 overall and 5-5 in Northern Athletics Conference play.

In game one of the doubleheader, the Stars would score first as Melissa Summaria (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown) cranked a double into left-center field before Sarah Budz (Orland Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) brought her in for the score. The lead was short lived, however, as the Eagles (15-8, 8-1 NAC) tied things up in the second and would extend their lead to 3-2 in the fourth.

The Stars would close the gap in the fifth frame as Allie Evans (Greenwood, Ind.) cranked a single through the left side, Corinne Wimmer (Elgin, Ill./Larkin) used her speed for a base hit bunt, and Summaria drew a walk to load the bases before a wild pitch scored Evans. But that would be all they could manage in the inning, and the score would remain 3-2 in favor of the Eagles through six and one half innings played.

In the Stars’ last chance at bat, two outs were already on the board before Summaria found another hole in left-center field, recording her second double of the game. It was then Budz who delivered the game-tying RBI when she singled to center field and forced the game into extra innings (video).

Neither team would score in the eighth, but 10 Benedictine hits in the top of the ninth inning would lead to 10 runs and the game one victory for the Eagles.

In game two, the Stars found themselves down 8-0 with just one hit through five innings against Benedictine’s Eryn Pondo who was named the NAC Pitcher of the Week after pitching a perfect five-inning game on April 6.

But in the bottom of the sixth, Erica King (Lyons, Ill./St. Joseph) got things going with a single up the middle before Amanda Moran (River Grove, Ill./East Leyden) singled to left and Budz scored Marissa Gray (Elk Grove, Ill./Conant), who was pinch running for King.

Back-to-back walks by Emily Mahoney (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) and Andrea Pinarski (Goshen, Ind./Concord) would then create another run for the Stars, but it would be their last, while Benedictine got another in the top of the seventh to bring the game to its final score of 9-2.

The Stars will next face the Crusaders of Maranatha Baptist Bible College on April 14 in a 12 p.m. doubleheader.