Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Dominican University softball team’s grip on the two-seed in the upcoming Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Softball Tournament loosened on Friday, as the Stars split a conference doubleheader at Alverno College in Milwaukee, dropping game two 7-3 after fighting for a 9-5 victory in game one.
 
In game one, Jessica Wood (West Chicago, Ill.), who returned to the lineup last Sunday after missing 16 games, lined a two-run single to left in the top of the second to put the Stars on top.  The Stars then added to their lead in the top of the fourth, scoring three unearned runs.  Sara Hausl (St. Charles, Ill.) lined an RBI double into the gap in right-center field and scored as Erica King (Lyons, Ill.) singled down the left field line.
 
Wood made it 6-0 Stars in the top of the fifth with an RBI single up the middle to score Melissa Summaria (Algonquin, Ill.).
 
Emily Mahoney (Crystal Lake, Ill.) held the Alverno Inferno to just three hits over the first four innings, striking out eight while walking none, but the Inferno got to the Stars’ bullpen in the fifth.  Jamie Villalobos’s sacrifice fly plated Megan Rossi and Lauren Colette’s single pushed across Sam Kasprzak as the Inferno pulled to within 6-2.
 
Andrea Pinarski (Goshen, Ind.) got one of the runs back as she led off the sixth with a solo shot over the fence in left-center.  Armani Procter (Chicago, Ill.) then pushed across two more runs for the Stars with a single to left-center as the Stars opened a 9-2 lead.
 
The Inferno tried to fight back, scoring two in the bottom of the sixth, including a solo home run off the bat of Stef Wilmore.  Alverno got another in the last of the seventh but Sarah Slouber (Willow Springs, Ill.) picked up her first save of the season as she stranded a pair of runners as she got Erika Wotnoske to pop out to King in foul territory down the first base line.
 
Summaria, Procter and Wood, the Stars’ six, seven and eight hitters, went a combined 8-for-11 with five RBI.  Mahoney, who picked up her 17^th win in the circle, went 3-for-3 at the plate as the Stars’ pounded out 15 hits.
 
In game two, the Inferno used a six-run third to power their way past the Stars.  Ashleigh Sagat’s grand slam broke a 1-1 tie and was followed by a solo shot by Wotnoske that ended Mahoney’s day in the circle.
 
The Inferno added a run off freshman Haley Locher (Lisle, Ill.) in the fifth to open a 7-1 lead.
 
The Stars rallied with two outs in the top of the seventh, scoring on an RBI single by Pinarski and an Inferno wild pitch but the threat was ended as King bounced out to the pitcher to end the game.
 
Mahoney was tagged with the loss, dropping to 17-6 on the season, but went 2-for-3 at the plate with a solo home run to lead off the top of the second.
 
The Stars, now 24-10 overall, stand at 16-4 in the NAC, tied with the Benedictine University Eagles for second heading into the final weekend of conference play.  On Saturday, the Stars will host a pair of NAC doubleheaders, hosting the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons for a 12:00 p.m. twinbill before taking on the Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders at 5:30 p.m. to close out the 2013 regular season.