Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FOREST PARK, Ill. – With a sweep of visiting Alverno College today, the Stars secured their fourth consecutive trip to the Northern Athletics Conference tournament. They grabbed the last spot in the six-team event that starts Thursday in Milwaukee.

The Stars (21-19, 14-10 NAC) got off to an early start in game one, pounding out 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning thanks in part to Melissa Summaria’s (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown) first of two homers on the day. They would tally five more runs over the course of the next three innings to take a 15-0 lead before the Inferno (15-21, 8-14 NAC) put one on the board in the fifth inning on a home run over the left field fence, which brought the game to its final score of 15-1 in five innings.

Sarah Slouber (Willow Springs, Ill./Argo) picked up the win in the circle, striking out three in four innings of work, while Emily Mahoney (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) and Amanda Moran (River Grove, Ill./East Leyden) each went 3-3 at the plate, Moran with a double. Mahoney and Summaria also drove in four runs apiece for the Stars, while Sarah Budz (Orland Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) crossed the plate four times after going 1-2 at the plate with two walks and an RBI.

In game two, the Stars would tally six runs in the first two innings, giving Jori Cicale (Steger, Ill./Marian Catholic) a comfortable lead to work with in the circle. Summaria would add to that lead in the fifth inning with her second long ball of the day and team-leading fifth home run of the season.

Cicale went six innings in the circle and picked up her 11^th win of the season for the Stars, striking out five and walking just one. Corinne Wimmer (Elgin, Ill./Larkin) and Allie Evans (Greenwood, Ind.) drove in two runs apiece to lead the Stars offensively, while Mahoney recorded two hits and one RBI in three at bats.

Dominican also participated in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association StrikeOut Cancer initiative today, and raised over $500 to help in the fight against cancer.

The Stars will next travel to Alverno to participate in the 2012 Northern Athletics Conference tournament, facing the third-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin on Thursday, May 3. The two teams faced off just yesterday in a NAC twin bill, the Falcons sweeping the Stars 5-4 and 8-0. Thursday’s matchup is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch.