The Dominican University baseball team split a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) doubleheader on Saturday, dropping a pitcher's duel in game one, 1-0, before cruising to a 14-4 victory in game two against the Benedictine University Eagles.
 
After managing five hits in the series opener, the Stars pounded out 17 hits in the nightcap in support of Daniel Supple who improved to 5-2 on the season, tossing a complete-game while giving up four runs on ten hits.
 
"Game two is a glimpse of what we can be and what we expect to do as a team," said head coach Steve Hardman following the Stars' victory. "We battled on the mound and hit the ball well.  That was a good team and we took it to them. We have seen how good we can be at times throughout the year but need to play at that level more consistently."
 
Dominican, now 11-18 on the season and 4-8 in NACC play, returns to the diamond tomorrow, taking the short trek down Division Street to meet the Concordia University Chicago Cougars in the final matchup of the inaugural River Forest Rivalry series.  First pitch for game one of the doubleheader is slated for 12:00 p.m.
 
Game One: Benedictine 1, Dominican 0
 
The Stars put the leadoff hitter on in the bottom of the ninth but stranded the potential tying run in scoring position as Benedictine's Frank Greco out-dueled the Stars' Tyler Brown as both starting pitchers worked complete-games in the series opener.
 
After Brown pitched around a pair of Dominican errors in the first, the Eagles scored the game's lone run in the top of the second after Erik Callaghan ripped a one-out double down the left field line and then scored two batters later when D.J. Dillon singled through the left side of the infield.  Brown escaped further damage when the Eagles' Nick Severino bounced into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play.
 
Brown went on to retire the next 11 hitters and limited the Eagles to just two hits the rest of the way in taking his fifth loss of the season.
 
Greco held the Stars to five hits in his second complete-game effort of the season.
 
Dominican's KJ Wilk nearly knotted the game up in the eighth, ripping a liner to right that Severino dove and caught, robbing Wilk of a hit with Frankie Sessa aboard at second.
 
Game Two: Dominican 14, Benedictine 4 (8 Inn.)
 
After getting shutout in the opener, the Dominican offense struck for three runs in the bottom of the first to stake the Stars to a 3-0 lead.  Nathaniel Natividad got the rally started, rolling an infield single down the third base line.  The hit was the first of four hits for the Stars' third baseman in the game.  After Brian Costello was hit-by-pitch, Colin Janison drove home Natividad with a single to center.  Sessa followed with a single to load the bases with nobody out.  After a line out, an Eagles' error allowed Costello and Janison to cross.
 
Benedictine answered with three runs in the top of the second to even the game before Dominican scored the next five runs of the ballgame over the next three innings to open an 8-3 lead after five innings.
 
After the Eagles got one run back in the top of the sixth, Dominican answered back in the bottom of the inning to push the lead back to five.  Mike Buckley led off the frame with a double to left-center and scored an out later when Natividad singled through the left side of the infield.
 
After a scoreless seventh inning, the Stars put a bow on their 11^th win of the season with five runs in the eighth.  Mike Piotrowski capped the rally with a bases-loaded double, scoring Kukla, Sessa and Costello to push the ten-run rule into action.
 
Sessa and Buckley went 3-for-5 each at the plate while Piotrowski finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs.
 
For Supple it was his first complete game of the season, scattering ten hits over eight innings while striking out two and walking none.