The Dominican University baseball team scored their first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) series victory on Sunday, sweeping a doubleheader from the Lakeland University Muskies in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The wins push the Stars to 16-18 overall and 5-13 in the NACC with four regular season games to play.
"It was nice to get a conference sweep," commented Steve Hardman, the Stars' head baseball coach, following the wins. "We did just enough to win both games…the bats woke up a little today and will hopefully stay hot for the last week of the season."
The Stars picked up a 5-4 win in game one behind a complete-game effort on the mound from freshman left-hander
George Sherman. Sherman scattered six hits and one walk over nine innings, surrendering just three earned runs, while striking out six.
After falling behind 1-0 after four innings, the Stars scored five straight between the fifth and seventh innings before holding on for the win.
Joe Kukla plated the first run for Dominican with a sacrifice fly to push across
Mike Buckley who led off the fifth with a double to left-center. With two outs and the bases clear,
Nathaniel Natividad belted his first home run of the season, giving Sherman a 2-1 lead to work with.
The Stars managed two more runs in the sixth, collecting three hits after two were out. Buckley again sparked the rally with a two-out double and then scored when
Roque Bruno followed with a double. Bruno then scored when Kukla singled to left.
After Sherman set the Muskies down in order in the bottom of the sixth,
Frankie Sessa plated what proved to be the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly, scoring
Colin Janison, to give Dominican a 5-1 lead.
Lakeland managed two runs in the bottom of the eighth and then pulled within a run in the bottom of the ninth when a Stars' miscue in the field allowed a run to score and put the tying run at third before Sherman got the final out with a fly out to center.
In game two, the Stars again pulled out another one-run game, this time stranding the tying run at second when
Tyler Foreman struck out Lino Figueroa for the final out in an 8-7 win for the Stars.
Offensively, the Stars scored five runs in the top of the sixth to open a 7-4 lead after six innings.
Matt Segovia delivered the big blow in the inning, blasting a three-run home run. Earlier in the inning Natividad picked up a pair of RBIs with a bases loaded double, scoring Bruno and Buckley after the Muskies loaded the bases by hitting three batters.
Medin Milla picked up the win for the Stars, allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks over 6.2 innings. Foreman then came on for the final 2.1 innings to pick up his second save of the season.
The Stars will close out league play on Thursday, hosting the Edgewood College Eagles for a doubleheader at Boomers Stadium before rounding out the 2018 season with a non-conference twin bill at Eureka College on Friday.
