The Dominican University baseball team opened its seven-day, eight-game trip to Fort Myers, Florida, with a doubleheader split with the Hiram College Terriers.  The Stars, behind ten strikeouts from junior right-hander Colin Janison, captured game one of the two-game set 10-3 before letting a 2-0 lead slip away in a 3-2 loss to the Terriers in game two.
 
"I was happy with all aspects of our game in game one," said Steve Hardman, the Stars' sixth-year head coach. "I thought we swung the bats well, pitched well and played solid defense. In game two, we had an early lead and did not put them away. We left too many guys on base and did not put the ball in play."
 
The Stars, now 1-3 on the season, return to the diamonds at the Player Development Complex on Monday, taking on the Alvernia University Crusaders at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
 
Game One: Dominican 10, Hiram 3
 
Janison improved to 1-1 on the season, working six innings and surrendering just two runs on eight hits while punching out ten and walking none.
 
Dominican staked its ace to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Mike Piotrowski doubled to left-center to play Janison and then scored when Mike Buckley doubled to the gap in left-center.  Freshman Matt Segovia followed with an RBI single.
 
The Stars tacked on three more in the third.  KJ Wilk ripped a two-run single to left-center in the frame after Joe Kukla singled with the bases loaded to score Frankie Sessa.  An inning later Sessa scored for the third time in the ballgame after ripping a two-out triple down the left field line before scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Hiram got two runs off of Janison in the top of the sixth but the Stars' answered with their third three-run frame in the bottom of the sixth.  Sessa picked up his fourth hit of the game, knocking out a bases loaded single to score two runs before Buckley capped the Stars' scoring for the game with a sacrifice fly.
 
Game Two: Hiram 3, Dominican 2
 
The Stars, looking to sweep the doubleheader from the Terriers, jumped out to a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Sessa in the first and run-scoring double by Royce Salay in the second but went on to strand ten runners in a 3-2 loss.
 
Tyler Brown lasted five innings, surrendering three runs to take the loss and fall to 0-2 on the season.  Brown allowed eight hits while striking out six, but four walks led to trouble.  After pitching out of a bases loaded jam with nobody out in the second, Brown nearly escaped the same scenario in the third with back-to-back punchouts before Chet Waddell singled to right field to tie the game 2-2.
 
The Terriers then scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fourth when Brandon Gros doubled with one out and then scored on Brandon Kish's two-out single.
 
Hiram's bullpen then tossing three scoreless innings without allowing a hit.