Box Score The Dominican University softball team dropped their opening game of the 2014 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) double-elimination tournament, falling to the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons 10-6.
 
The Falcons offense got to work early as leadoff hitter Jessica Liszka deposited the third pitch of the game over the fence in right-center field for a leadoff home run.
 
Dominican did manage a leadoff single from Ashley Rea (Lockport, Ill.) in the bottom of the first but failed to push her along as Dominique Schneider (Lockport, Ill.) and Alyssa Domico (Naperville, Ill.) went down on strikes before Kaitlin Barajas (Dyer, Ind.) flew out to center to end the frame.
 
In the second, starting pitcher Haley Locher (Lisle, Ill.) pitched out of a second and third jam after Liszka doubled, getting Alexis Holsten to fly out to left to keep the Stars within a run.
 
The Falcons went deep again in the top of the third as Carly Sobrilsky homered to center with two runners aboard to put the Falcons on top 4-0 and end the day for Locher.  Locher was charged with four runs, three earned, on three hits and three walks in two-plus innings of work.
 
Concordia Wisconsin added another run in the top of the fourth as Holsten stole second with Liszka over at third, allowing Liszka to take home on a throwing error by catcher Kimberley Giannini (River Grove, Ill.).
 
Dominican finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth, pushing across four runs on two hits and capitalizing on a Falcon error.  Domico started the inning, drawing a four-pitch walk.  Barajas followed with a slow bouncer to third that third baseman Mariah Giesseman threw away at first, allowing the runners to take second and third.  After a groundout back to the circle, Allie Evans (Greenwood, Ind.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Sara Hausl (St. Charles, Ill.) grounded out to second, allowing Domico to score.  After Armani Procter (Chicago, Ill.) walked to reload the bases, Catherine Conte (Elmwood Park, Ill.) delivered with a two run double immediately followed by an RBI single by Rea.
 
After a scoreless fifth, the Falcons broke the game back open with three in the top of the sixth.  Liszka led off with a single, her fourth hit of the game, scoring on a double by Holsten.  Later in the inning, Sobrilsky picked up her fourth RBI of the game, pushing across Giesseman on a soft single to right.
 
The Stars crept back into the game in the bottom of the sixth, pushing across two runs.  Evans doubled to left-center to score Giannini who walked to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt, Evans came across on Procter's groundball to short.  Giesseman could not come up with Procter's grounder but Jamie Schuh held the Stars getting Conte and Rea to groundout to end the inning.
 
The Falcons tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh, capitalizing on a Dominican error, their fifth of the game, allowing Jennifer Reicher to drive home two on a single to left.
 
Locher took the loss in the circle, falling to 9-8 on the season while Schuh picked up the win for the Falcons improving to 7-7.
 
Dominican managed just four hits, led by Rea who collected a pair of singles.
 
With the loss, the Stars fall to 23-16 on the season and head to the loser's bracket of the tournament where they will meet the MSOE Raiders on Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. in Milwaukee.