The Dominican University softball team saw their 14-game winning streak come to a close on Sunday evening, dropping a pair of one-run games to the MSOE Raiders to open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play at the Ballpark at Rosemont, marking the first time the Stars have started 0-2 in conference play since 2012.
 
The Stars put the tying run on base in the seventh inning of both games but stranded a total of 15 runners on the day.
 
Dominican is now 15-5 on the season with eight games on deck this week including a Wednesday home series against the Rockford University Regents.
 
Game One: MSOE 8, Dominican 7
 
The Raiders raced out to a 4-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings, chasing Dominican's Sydney Kuderna from the game after surrendering four runs on five hits and three walks.
 
The Stars' bats cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third, scoring on an RBI single by Alyssa Domico before Ali Woitovich picked up an RBI as she bounced out to first base with Abby Maike at third.
 
MSOE got one run back in the top of the fourth, capitalizing on a Dominican error before the Stars got back to work at the plate in the bottom of the inning.
 
The frame started with Katie Fredrick getting hit-by-pitch and Alena Valenzuela reaching on an infield single before an MSOE fielding miscue allowed Fredrick to score.  After the next two hitters were retired, Domico walked to load the bases before Woitovich came through with a two-run single to left.  Gabi Alfaro followed with a single through the right side of the infield but the inning came to a close as Domico tried to score on the hit but was retired on a perfect throw from Julia Marsh in right field.
 
The Stars took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth when Kuderna scored when Jacadi Rivera bounced out with runners on first and third.
 
The lead was short lived with MSOE putting up three runs in the top of the sixth to take an 8-6 lead.
 
In the Stars' half of the sixth, Domico drew a one-out walk ahead of Woitovich who singled to right for her third hit of the game.  The ball skipped past Marsh in right allowing Domico to come all the way from first with Woitovich retired at the plate trying score the tying run.
 
After Klostermann struck out the side in the top of the seventh, Fredrick reached as the potential tying run in the bottom of the seventh but MSOE got the next three hitters to end the game.
 
Klostermann was tagged the loss in the circle, falling to 2-1.
 
Dominican managed ten hits with Woitovich and Alfaro combining to go 5-for-7 as the Stars' four and five hitters and Woitovich driving in three runs.
 
Game Two: MSOE 2, Dominican 1
 
Klostermann took the loss again in game two, allowing one run over five innings of work.  MSOE added another run in the top of the seventh off of Olivia Babusci who pitched a total of four innings on the day, allowing just one earned run on five hits and one walk.
 
The Stars plated their lone run of the game in the last of the seventh.  Kuderna and Valenzuela sparked a two-out rally, drawing back-to-back walks before Rivera singled through the right side of the infield to score Kuderna but the tying run was stranded at second when the Raiders' Shannon Curtis, the game one winner in the circle, slammed the door, getting Marissa Burns to ground out to short.
 
Domico led the way offensively for the Stars, collecting two of the team's four hits.