Box Score The Dominican University baseball team scored an upset victory in the opening round of the 2014 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament, knocking off the second-seeded Benedictine University Eagles, 6-3.  The Stars, the fifth seed, turned three double plays behind senior right-hander Mitch McCaffery (Johnson Creek, Wis.) who went the distance for his league-leading eighth complete game of the season.
 
Joe Krasny (Berwyn, Ill.) lined a two-out double to the gap in right-center to jumpstart the Stars' offense in the top of the first.  Krasny came around to score as Cody Schuster (Las Vegas, Nev.) muscled a looping liner into center off the handle of the bats to give Mitch McCaffery a 1-0 lead before taking to the mound.
 
Tim Hendricks led off the bottom of the first with a single to right but Dominican's Joe Lyons (Chicago Ridge, Ill.) started a 4-6-3 double play on a ground ball by Brandon Clark as McCaffery pitched around a pair of singles in the frame.
 
McCaffery stranded another runner for the Eagles in the bottom of the second after Nick Severino lined a two-out triple to right-center.  McCaffery escaped the frame, getting Tyler Floyd to fly out to center.
 
The Stars' offense went back to work in the top of the third with Kevin Schwer (Evergreen Park, Ill.) drawing a leadoff walk.  After a sacrifice bunt by Tim Varallo (Chicago, Ill.) and a line out to left, the Eagles elected to intentionally walk Krasny with first base open.  Schuster made the Eagles pay, blooping a ball just out of the reach of first basemen Ryan Mullin and into right to score Schwer.  Krasny then scored as Lyons singled up the middle to put the Stars on top 3-0.
 
Dominican left the bases loaded in the top of the fourth but could not score as Varallo and Krasny went down on strikes.  Benedictine carried that momentum into the bottom of the inning as Ryan Mullin and Brandon Clark roped back-to-back doubles to open in the inning.  After a single by Kevin Hendricks, Clark scored on a wild pitch to pull the Eagles within 3-2.  McCaffery then escaped further damage with a pair of come-backers before getting Tim Hendricks to fly out to center to end the inning.
 
The Stars answered in the top of the fifth when Schuster led off with a double to left-center.  Lyons followed by lining a single to center and Schuster then scored when Quentin Becquey (St. Julien Le Faucon, France) grounded out to short.
 
Dominican added an insurance run in the top of the eighth as Lucas McKinney (Arvada, Colo.) smacked a line drive home run over the fence down the left field line.
 
The Stars turned their second double play of the game in the bottom of the eighth as Severino grounded to Smith to negate a leadoff single by Max Oppenheimer.
 
Dominican added a run in the top of the ninth and McCaffery used another double play in the bottom of the ninth, holding the Eagles to one run in the inning to pick up the 6-3 win.
 
McCaffery scattered 13 hits and two walks, surrendering three earned runs while striking out two.  The senior right-hander moves to 6-4 on the season, throwing 141 pitches over nine innings in the winning effort.
 
Offensively, the Stars managed ten hits led by Schuster who went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs batted in and a run scored.  Krasny and Lyons picked up two hits apiece while Bequey drove in a pair of runs despite going 0-for-5.
 
The Stars, now 22-16 on the season, will return to Kapco Park in Mequon on Friday, taking on the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons at 1:00 p.m.  The Falcons knocked off the Edgewood College Eagles, 7-3, in their opening game of the tournament.