The Dominican University softball team extended its current winning streak to a season-best five games, sweeping the Concordia University Chicago Cougars on Friday afternoon in River Forest to improve to 13-15 on the season and 7-5 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play.
Ali Woitovich's bases-loaded triple lifted the Stars to a 7-6 win in game one before
Sydney Kuderna tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout in an 8-0 win in game two.
The Stars, already on four games in the past two days, return to the diamond on Saturday, traveling to Rockford University for a NACC doubleheader with the Regents before continuing on to Madison, Wisconsin, for a Sunday doubleheader against the Edgewood College Eagles.
Game One: Dominican 7, Concordia Chicago 6
The Stars opened a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when starting pitcher
Cat Klostermann laced a two-run double to the gap in left-center. The Cougars pulled even in the top of the fourth before scoring four unearned runs in the top of the sixth to open a 6-2 lead after five and a half innings.
Dominican cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth, working back-to-back walks to open the inning. After a groundout pushed the runners to second and third,
Katie Fredrick legged out an infield single to score the first run of the inning before
Julia Orozco plated the other run with a sacrifice fly.
After
Michele Behrens worked around a two-out single in the top of the seventh, the Stars loaded the bases on three walks before Woitovich drove a 3-2 pitch with two outs to the base of the wall in left center, clearing the bases for the game-winning double.
The Stars worked eight walks in the winning effort, scoring five runs off the walks.
Sydney Kuderna, Klostermann, Woitovich, Fredrick and Orozco all managed one hit apiece as the Stars collected five hits on the day.
In the circle, Behrens picked up the win, working the final 1.1 innings out of the bullpen. Klostermann got the start, her 15
th of the season, surrendering two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two over four innings.
Olivia Babusci worked a scoreless fifth before the Cougars scored four unearned runs off the senior in the sixth.
Game Two: Dominican 8, Concordia Chicago 0 (5 Inn.)
Kuderna needed just 66 pitches to toss a complete-game shutout in the second game of the River Forest Rivalry series on the softball diamond. The junior left-hander surrendered just three hits while striking out three without issuing a walk.
Orozco snapped a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second, blasting a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left-center for her second home run of the season.
Hannah Gordon then sparked a five-run bottom of the third with a leadoff homer. Later in the inning,
CJ Mardirosian added an RBI double before Woitovich and Orozco drove in runs with singles to extend the lead to 6-0 after three. Orozco then put the game away in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run single with the bases loaded.
