The Dominican University softball team swept a Saturday doubleheader from the Marian University Sabres to open the 2015 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) season. The wins push the Stars overall record to 13-3, marking the Stars best start to a season in program history.
Dominican was to return to the diamond on Sunday for a twinbill at Lakeland College but Sunday's forecast forced the series to be postponed. The Stars will now travel to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Monday to take on the Muskies. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m.
Game One: Dominican 14, Marian 8 The Stars fell behind 5-0 after Marian roughed up
Haley Locher (Lisle, Ill.) for five runs on six hits and three walks through two innings. Dominican's offense answered with two runs in the top of the third when
Marissa Burns (Shorewood, Ill.) picked up a two-run single up the middle with two outs to score
Allie Evans (Greenwood, Ind.) and
Ashley Rea (Lockport, Ill.).
In the fourth, Dominican put up a five-spot to take a 7-5 lead after four.
Alyssa Domico (Naperville, Ill.) provided the big shot in the inning, roping a bases loaded triple to right center to give the Stars the lead.
Dominican never trailed the rest of the way, tacking on two more in the fifth, capitalizing on a pair of Marian errors before adding four more in the top of the sixth.
Siena Gyure (Crown Point, Ind.), who came in for Locher in the top of the third, rocked a double to right center with the bases loaded to score two runs and later scored when Rea legged out an infield single.
Dominican legged out 15 hits in the winning effort, including four extra-base hits. Rea led the way, going 3-for-5 with a double, a RBI and a run scored.
Sara Hausl (St. Charles, Ill.),
Armani Procter (Chicago, Ill.), Gyure and Evans all collected two hits apiece.
In the circle, Gyure picked up her first win of the season, tossing five innings in relief of Locher. Gyure scattered seven hits, surrendering three runs, one earned, while walking none and striking out two.
Game Two: Dominican 7, Marian 3 Marian took an early lead again in game two, this time getting to freshman lefthander
Michele Behrens (Frankfort, Ill.) with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. However, Behrens settled in, retiring nine straight before giving up a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth.
Dominican's offense managed just one hit and two base runners until
Ali Woitovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) led off the top of the fifth with a single to left. After a walk, Woitovich scored on a Marian miscue. Rea then walked to load the bases for Hausl who singled to center to tie the game at 2-2. Burns followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Stars their first lead of the game.
After Behrens pitched around a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth, the Dominican bats went back to work in the sixth, scoring three runs on a hit and three errors.
The Stars added an insurance run in the seventh before the Sabres added a solo home run off Behrens in the bottom of the seventh.
Behrens picked up the win in the circle, tossing her team-leading third complete game, to move to 5-0. The freshman allowed just three runs on five hits.
Offensively, Woitovich led the way, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
