The Dominican University softball team suffered their first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) setback, dropping game one of a doubleheader with the Alverno College Inferno, 6-3, before rallying for a 9-1 victory in the nightcap.
 
The split pushes the Stars to 17-5 overall and 5-1 in the NACC with a weekend series with the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors on deck for Saturday at the Stars' home field in Forest Park.
 
Game One:  Alverno 6, Dominican 3
 
Alverno's senior right-hander Erin Dulek scattered ten hits and one walk, surrendering just three runs in picking up the complete-game victory.
 
Dulek evaded trouble early on, as Dominican's Catherine Conte's (Elmwood Park, Ill.) one-out single hit struck teammate Armani Procter (Chicago, Ill.) on the base path.  The single would have put runners at first and second for the Stars with one out but instead Dominican had a runner at first with two outs.  Then in the third, with a runner at third with one out, Haley Locher (Lisle, Ill.) was thrown at the plate trying to score on a ground ball hit by Ashley Rea (Lockport, Ill.).
 
Dominican again threatened in the fourth as Kaitlyn Tripp (Imperial, Mo.) singled with one out.  Procter followed with a double to left to put runners at second and third with one out.  Conte lined a ball towards first that was gloved by Ashlie Rossi who was able to double-up Tripp at third.
 
Meanwhile, Alverno got to Dominican's Locher for a single run in the third and then extended their lead in the fourth on Sam Kasprzak's three-run home run.
 
Dominican got one run back in the top of the fifth when Rea's one-out single with runners at second and third scored Elizabeth Cordes (Farmer City, Ill.) who was on to run for Kaitlin Barajas (Dyer, Ind.).  However, the Stars stranded runners at the corners when Sara Hausl (St. Charles, Ill.) popped out to short and Alyssa Domico (Naperville, Ill.) flew out to right field.
 
After the Inferno tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth, Conte homered in the top of the sixth with Tripp aboard to cut the Stars' deficit to 5-3.  However, Dominican managed just one runner in the seventh while the Inferno plated another solo run in the home half of the sixth.
 
In total, Dominican stranded six runners with Tripp, Procter and Conte, four, five and six in the Stars' lineup, went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a home run.
 
Locher was tagged with the loss, falling to 6-4, as she surrendered six runs, three earned, on seven hits and three walks.
 
Game Two:  Dominican 9, Alverno 1
 
Dominican continued to struggle to pick up big hits in game two until Conte singled to right to score Tripp and Hausl to open a 5-0 lead for the Stars in the top of the fifth.  The single was the fifth hit of the inning for Dominican that had scored earlier in the inning on Hausl's bunt single and Tripp's single to right.  Rea started the rally when she doubled to right center with one out.
 
In the circle, Michele Behrens (Frankfort, Ill.) cruised to her seventh win of the season, improving to 7-1, tossing five strong innings.  The freshman left surrendered just two hits and one walk while striking out to before handing the game over to Sarah Slouber (Willow Springs, Ill.).
 
Hausl, Lindsey Dudek (Posen, Ill.) and Tripp collected two hits apiece as the Stars collected 12 hits as a team.