Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Dominican University softball team rode the right shoulder of senior pitcher Emily Mahoney (Crystal Lake, Ill.) to a pair of 1-0 Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) victories over the visiting Marian University Sabres on Saturday afternoon in Forest Park.
 
The Stars pushed across what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the fifth as Amanda Moran (River Grove, Ill.) reached on an error.  After a sacrifice bunt, Moran then scored from second on another Marian error as Andrea Pinarski (Goshen, Ind.) looked to lay down another sacrifice bunt.
 
In the field, Mahoney was nothing short of spectacular, retiring 17 of the first 18 hitters she faced while carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning.  With one out in the top of the sixth, the Sabres’ Nikki Jakel looped a single just out of the reach of shortstop Sara Hausl (St. Charles, Ill.).  After fanning Tana Vanden Huevel, an error put runners on first and second with two outs for the Sabres.  Mahoney buckled down and sat down Emilie Jansen on three pitches.
 
Mahoney made the 1-0 lead stand as she pitched around a seventh inning error, stranding the tying run at second base with back-to-back strikeouts.  The Stars’ senior ace punched out 16 hitters in the winning effort while picking up her seventh complete game and second shutout of the season.
 
Mahoney continued to deal in game two, finally running into trouble in the top of the fourth but was able to get Daniele Gerth to pop out with the bases loaded to keep the Sabres off the board.  Mahoney stranded another runner in the fifth after Bridgette Stelsel led off the inning with a bunt single.  A passed ball and a sacrifice bunt pushed Stelsel to third but Jakel was called out for making contact with the ball while stepping in front of home plate and then Mahoney retired the threat as Brie Hechimovich flew out to right.
 
After the Sabres went down in order in the top of the seventh, the Stars finally broke through as Hausl led off the bottom of the inning with a single to right.  Another error by the Sabres put runners at second and third before Marian issued a free pass to Kaitlin Barajas (Dyer, Ind.) to load the bases.  After a strikeout, Hausl came across to score the winning run on a wild pitch with Armani Procter (Chicago, Ill.) at the plate.
 
Mahoney improves to 9-2 in the circle for the Stars, fanning 23 hitters on the day.
 
The Stars, now 14-6 on the season and 6-0 in Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) play, return to the diamond on Sunday, playing host to the Edgewood College Eagles for a conference twinbill.  First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. in Forest Park.