The Dominican University softball team went 1-1 on the first day of the 2016 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament, falling to the Aurora University Spartans 10-2 in five innings after edging the Lakeland College Muskies in extra innings earlier in the day.  The Stars will return to the diamond at Alverno Field on Friday morning, taking on the Concordia University Chicago Cougars in an elimination game at 11:00 a.m.
 
The Spartans ended Sydney Kuderna's (Naperville, Ill.) day in the circle early, touching the freshman for four runs on five hits over an inning and a third of work, opening a 4-0 lead after two innings.  Kuderna had already tossed 152 pitches in Dominican's extra-inning win over Lakeland College earlier in the day.
 
After single runs in each the third and fourth, the Spartans led 6-0 after four innings before the Stars capitalized on an Aurora fielding gaffe.  Sara Hausl (St. Charles, Ill.) reached on an error to start the top of the fifth and came across to score Dominican's first run of the game when Alyssa Domico (Naperville, Ill.) lined a triple with two outs.  Domico then came across when Catherine Conte (Elmwood Park, Ill.) delivered an RBI single as Dominican pulled within 6-2 in the middle of the fifth.
 
However, the Spartans responded with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the inning to put the game away.
 
In total, the Spartans pounded out 15 hits while Dominican managed seven but the Stars stranded eight runners in the losing effort.
 
The Stars, now 26-14 on the season, and 1-1 in the NACC Tournament, will look to stave off elimination on Friday, needing to post a pair of wins to advance to day three of the tournament.  The winner of the Dominican-Concordia Chicago matchup will turn around and take on the winner of game five of the tournament, Benedictine-Lakeland, in another elimination game at 1:00 p.m.