The Dominican University softball team moved to 5-3 on the year, splitting contests with the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings and University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Panthers on Thursday morning at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Gene Cusic Classic softball tournament.
The Stars will return to action on Friday, heading for North Collier Regional Park in Naples for a 1:00 p.m. ET game with Northland College followed by a 3:00 p.m. ET first pitch against Salem State University. Dominican will then close out play in Florida on Saturday, taking on UW-Superior and Nichols College before returning to River Forest.
Game One: Dominican 11, Bethany Lutheran 0 (5 Inning) Dominican's pitching staff surrendered just one hit in a five-inning shutout victory over Bethany Lutheran while the bats erupted for 11 runs on 11 hits.
Sydney Kuderna (Naperville, Ill.), making her first collegiate start in the circle, allowed just one hit in three innings of work to pick up the win. Kuderna is now 2-0 on the season and lowered her ERA to 0.91, allowing just one run all year in 7.2 innings of work.
Anissa Becker (Sugar Grove, Ill.) then tossed the final two innings of the combined one-hitter, striking out four while not allowing a single runner.
The Stars' offense staked Kuderna to an early lead, scoring all the runs she would need in the first.
Gabi Alfaro (Aurora, Ill.) walked to lead off the game and stole second and third before coming across on
Sara Hausl's (St. Charles, Ill.) ground ball to short. Hausl then scored when
Ali Woitovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) doubled to left.
After a run in the second and two in the third, Dominican broke the game open in the fourth, pushing across five runs on four hits while capitalizing on a pair of Vikings' errors. In the thick of the inning,
Alyssa Domico (Naperville, Ill.) bounced a two-run single through the left side and then stole second. After taking third on a wild pitch, Domico scored on a Vikings' passed ball.
Abby Maike (Savanna, Ill.) later singled home a run to increase the Stars' lead to 10-0 after four innings.
After the Stars tacked on another run in the top of the fifth, Becker nailed down the victory with a pair of strikeouts in the fifth, including a game ending punch-out of Kendra Porath.
Domico and Woitovich had two apiece with Woitovich tallying the lone extra-base hit of the game with a double.
Game Two: UPB 6, Dominican 5 The Stars got off to a sloppy start, committing four errors in a five-run bottom of the first for the Panthers. Dominican's
Michele Behrens (Frankfort, Ill.), making her first start after tossing a no-hitter yesterday, lasted just one-third of an inning, surrendering five unearned runs on three hits.
Dominican started to chip into the lead with single runs in the second and third innings.
Armani Procter (Chicago, Ill.) pushed across
Marissa Burns (Shorewood, Ill.) with a sacrifice fly in the second and Hausl scored when Domico singled to right in the top of the third.
After a scoreless top of the fourth for Dominican, Pitt-Bradford got a run back in the bottom of the inning, capitalizing on a Stars' throwing error, Dominican's fifth error of the game.
Trailing 6-3 in the top of the fifth, Dominican pulled within a run with four hits and sacrifice fly.
Lindsey Dudek (Posen, Ill.) sparked the rally with a single up the middle. Hausl followed with a single to center. One out later, Woitovich doubled down the left field line to plate Dudek. Hausl then scored when
Catherine Conte (Elmwood Park, Ill.) singled and Woitovich came across on Burns' sac fly.
The Stars' comeback effort fell short when Dominican stranded runners in the sixth and seventh innings.
In total, the Stars left six runners on base despite ten hits in the game. Hausl had another three hits in the game, her fourth multi-hit effort of the trip, raising her batting average to .565. The senior also extended her hitting streak to six, reaching base safely in every game she has played this season.
