The Dominican University baseball team opened play at the Florida Coast Spring Training tournament, topping Kenyon College in game 1, 7-6, before falling to Immaculata University, 2-1, in game two.  The Stars' pitchers combined for 22 strikeouts in the split, with Hayden Young punching out ten over eight innings in game one while Bryant Bagshaw logged nine Ks in the game two loss.
 
"In game one we somehow found a way to win a game while striking out 20 times," said Steve Hardman, the Stars' head baseball coach. "That is really hard to do. I felt like we left a win on the table in game two because we stranded a ton of runners—with less than two outs. Right now we are not a very good team. Luckily we are able to get back on the field tomorrow and try to turn that around."
 
Dominican, now 3-4 on the year, returns to the Lawnwood Athletics Complex in Fort Pierce, Florida, tomorrow, taking on Geneva College at 1:30 p.m. ET.
 
Game One: Dominican 7, Kenyon 6
 
The Stars staked sophomore right-hander Hayden Young to a 3-0 lead after one, scoring three runs on three hits, a hit-by-pitch and a passed ball.  Shortstop Ryan Simak led off the inning with a single up the middle.  After Tyler Trojan took a fastball off the front shoulder and Frankie Sessa bounced into a fielder's choice that retired Simak, Johnny Condron brought home Trojan with a double to right.  A passed ball allowed Sessa to cross.  One out later, Condron came across when freshman Jake Polonus doubled deep to left.
 
The Lords got one run back in the top of the second and then evened the score at 3-3 in the top of the fifth when Alexander Hoskins lined a two-out triple to left off Young.  Dominican answered in the bottom of the inning when Sessa singled, snapping a string of eight straight strikeouts for Kenyon's Alex Gow. After another Gow punchout, Brandon Diedrich deposited a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left to put the Stars back in front 5-3. Gow retired the next hitter via strikes, his 14^th of the game, but the home run effectively ended the junior's day on the mound, leaving with a 5-3 deficit after 109 pitches.
 
The Lords got one run back in the top of the sixth but Dominican extended the lead back to two, 6-4, when Trojan rolled a double down the first base line, plating Nick Roeper who led off the frame with a walk.  Then in the eighth, Dominican scored an important insurance run when Mike Buckley homered to left-center off of Kenyon's Will Allen.
 
Young worked around a one-out walk and single in the seventh before setting the Lords down in order in the top of the eighth.  Over eight innings, the second-year starter surrendered just four runs, only two earned, on ten hits and two walks while striking out ten, improving to 2-1 on the season.  Young gave way to Tyler Kara who came on to pitch the ninth, picking up his first career save.  Kara gave up a leadoff single to right and after a strikeout appeared to have finished off the effort with a double-play ball up the middle that took a wicked hop up and over the right shoulder of Simak at shortstop.  Hoskins then pulled the Lords within a run with a two-run, one-out single to left.  Kara responded with a punchout of the next hitter before slamming the door with a curveball on the outside corner to get the final hitter looking.
 
The Stars finished the game with eight hits, including home runs for Diedrich and Mike Buckley and doubles for Condron, Trojan and Polonus.
 
Dominican's pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts and just two walks all game.
 
Game Two: Immaculata 2, Dominican 1
 
The Stars squandered too many opportunities in game two, stranding 11 runners while outhitting the Mighty Macs, 5-4.  The Stars also worked seven walks and were hit by pitch twice but stranded runners in seven of the nine innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the sixth and leaving a pair of runners on in the top of the ninth.
 
The Mighty Macs stole a run in the bottom of the third after starter Bryant Bagshaw struck out the first two hitters of the inning.  After a walk and a single put runners at first and third, Bagshaw had picked off Domenic Dellabarba who broke for second while Stephen Trendler broke for home.  Simak's throw to the plate from short was off-line, allowing Trendler to score.
 
The Stars evened the score in the top of the sixth.  Trojan was hit by pitch ahead of a Sessa double.  The Stars then loaded the bases when Condron was hit by a pitch.  After a strikeout, pinch-hitter Garrett Wano five-pitch walk to force in Trojan.  With the game tied, bases loaded and just one away, the Stars failed to capitalize, seeing the inning get away after a strikeout and a pop out.
 
Bagshaw appeared to be cruising in the bottom of the sixth, getting the first two hitters before issuing his fourth walk of the game ahead of the go-ahead double.  The Stars escaped further damage when Kevin Evans cut down a runner at the plate a hitter later.
 
Bagshaw falls to 0-2, working seven innings while giving up two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out nine.  George Sherman came on to work a 1-2-3 eighth inning for Dominican.