The Dominican University baseball team avoided a weekend sweep, pounding out 16 hits in a 13-3 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors on Tuesday at Schaumburg Boomers Stadium.  The Stars had erased a 6-1 lead in game one with a five-run seventh to even the game at 7-7 before the Warriors scored the eventual game-winner on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the eighth.
 
"I was happy to see us bounce back and salvage the split in game two," said Steve Hardman standing on the field at Schaumburg Boomers Stadium following the twi-night doubleheader.  "We could not afford to be swept on the weekend and drop back-to-back conference series if we want to compete for a spot in the conference tournament."
 
The split pushes the Stars to 10-14 overall and 4-4 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) eight games into the 20-game conference season. On deck for the Stars is a NACC series against the Rockford University Regents at Rivets Stadium in Loves Park, Illinois, on Saturday.
 
Game One: Wisconsin Lutheran 8, Dominican 7
 
After the Stars scored an unearned run when Colin Janison (Las Vegas, Nev.) doubled off the base of the wall in left field in the top of the third, the Warriors responded with six runs on five hits in the bottom of the frame to open a 6-1 lead after three.  The Warriors touched Dominican starter, Tyler Brown (Bartlett, Ill.), for five hits in the inning.  Jake Grollo delivered a bases loaded double to plate two runs and then KJ Banse followed with a two-run single.  After swiping second and taking third on a wild pitch, Banse scored the sixth run of the inning when Ryan Stancl bounced out to second for the first out of the inning.
 
Brown settled down and set the Warriors down in order in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the Stars in the game.  Dominican got a run back in the top of the fifth when Janison drew a two-out walk and then scored from first when Brian Costello (Norridge, Ill.) doubled to centerfield.
 
The Warriors pushed the lead back to five when Josiah Boucher doubled to left to in the bottom of the sixth to plate Colton Tisch and end the day for Brown.  Daniel Supple (Albany, Calif.) came on and got the final out of the sixth, closing the book on Brown who surrendered seven runs on nine hits and a walk over 5.2 innings.
 
Dominican picked up Brown in the top of the seventh, sending 11 hitters to the plate in a five-run inning. Nate Natividad started the rally, rolling a single up the middle to start the inning.  A walk and a single later, Janison singled to left to drive in Natividad.  Costello followed with his second double of the game, bringing around three with help from a Warrior miscue in the field.  Costello then scored the game-tying run when JT Hicks singled four hitters later.
 
After Supple worked a one-two-three seventh, Dominican had runners at first and second in the top of the eighth but Lucas McKinney rolled into a fielder's choice to end the threat.
 
In the Warriors half of the eighth inning, Banse started the inning with an infield single, his third hit of the game.  Banse then swiped his fourth base of the day before being sacrificed to third by Stancl.  Banse then scored when Tisch rolled up the middle with a drawn in infield.  Costello was able to dive up the middle and the Stars got Tisch but Banse scored the eventual game-winning run.
 
Dominican did threaten in the top of the ninth when Mike Piotrowski was hit by pitch to start the inning and got into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt by Hicks.  After another hit batter, Joe Kukla (Chicago, Ill.) went down on strikes before Brock Vredeveld came on for the final out, getting Quinlan Milne Rojek (Minneapolis, Minn.) to bounce into a fielder's choice to end the game.
 
Supple took the loss for the Stars, falling to 1-1 on the season, working 2.1 innings and allowing just one run.
 
For the Warriors, Cameron Paladines picked up the win out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit over two-plus innings of work.
 
For the Stars, Janison and Costello had two hits apiece but Dominican stranded 11 runners in the loss.
 
Game Two:  Dominican 13, Wisconsin Lutheran 3 (7 Inn.)
 
In game two, the Stars opened a 10-0 lead through four and a half innings thanks in large part to a three-run home run to left-center by Mike Piotrowski (Arlington Heights, Ill.), his third home run of the season, in the top of the third.
 
After Wisconsin Lutheran got on the board with a two-run fifth, the Stars put the game away, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh on five singles and a walk.
 
Milne Rojek tossed a complete-game in the win, surrendering three runs, two earned, on eight hits while striking out two and walking none.  The win was the senior's first of the season, improving to 1-2 in six starts.
 
Offensively, Schuster and Piotrowski tallied three hits apiece.  For Schuster, his single in the fifth was the 167^th base hit of his career, tying him for the Stars' program lead all-time with Adam Lotus.