Montgomery, Ill. – The #1 seeded Dominican University Softball team headed into day two of the tournament. The Stars faced off against the third-seeded Benedictine University in the first game of the day.
Results (Game 1):
Dominican: 4
Benedictine: 6
How it Happened:
-Dominican got out of a jam early with Benedictine getting runners on first and second with one out in the first inning. The Stars got out of the jam and earned only a walk by Senior
Paytin Salfi in their half of the first inning.
-The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the second inning by scoring a run on a hit and taking advantage of two Dominican errors.
-The Stars threatened in the bottom of the second with Sophomores
Madisen Butler and
Sara Cornell walking and then hitting a single to center field but were unable to get a run.
-BenU exploded in the third inning, scoring 4 runs on 5 hits.
-The Stars were down 5-0 until they put a crooked number on the board in the third. Sophomores
Kayla Amormino and
Isabella Olmos start the inning off with a single up the middle and double to right center field. Salfi then brought home Amormino on an RBI single to left. Sophomore
Raegyn Davis continued the inning with an RBI single to left field that brought home Olmos. The final run of the inning came off the bat of Freshman
Charlie Harris who reached on an error by the second baseman. Salfi came around to score.
-The score remained 5-3 until the top of the sixth inning, when Benedictine scored a run on two hits.
-Sophomore
Sara Cornell hit a solo homerun to right center field to make the score 6-4 in the bottom of the 7
th inning, but the Stars got no more after that.
Shining Stars:
-Sophomore
Sara Cornell went 2-4 with a homerun, an RBI, and a run scored on her birthday.
-Senior
Paytin Salfi went 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
-Sophomore
Kayla Amormino went 2-4 with a run scored.
-Sophomore
Isabella Olmos went 1-4 with a run scored and a double.
-Sophomore
Raegyn Davis went 1-4 with an RBI.
-Freshman
Charlie Harris went 1-4 with an RBI.
-Sophomore
Madisen Butler went 1-2 with a walk.
-Sophomore
Rhiannon Rubio threw 5 innings in relief with a strikeout.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Cornell, Salfi, and Amormino (3)
Runs: Amormino, Cornell, Salfi, and Olmos (1)
RBI: Salfi, Rae. Davis, Cornell, and Harris (1)
2B: Olmos (1)
HR: Cornell (1)
IP: Rubio (5.0)
K's: Rubio (1)
The Stars fell into the losers bracket and faced off against #2 Concordia Wisconsin in game two of the day and game three of the NACC Tournament.
Results (Game 2 Final in 8):
Dominican: 4
Concordia Wisconsin: 3
How it Happened:
-The Falcons set the tone early, scoring a run on four hits in the top of the first inning.
-Dominican did not take long to respond, with Senior
Paytin Salfi doubling to center field and Senior
Ryley Davis hitting an RBI single to right field.
-Concordia Wisconsin was shut down in the top of the second inning, and the Stars grabbed the lead in their half of the second. The inning started with Sophomore
Madisen Butler hitting a double to center field. Junior
Emme Slavens brought home Butler on an RBI single to left field. DU then stole the second run of the inning with Sophomore
Isabella Olmos stealing second base and Slavens scoring on an errant throw by the catcher.
-The Stars took a 3-1 lead to the third inning.
-The score remained 3-1 until the top of the seventh inning when CUW put up two runs on a hit and a DU error to tie the game.
-Dominican got a lead-off walk by Sophomore
Raegyn Davis but was unable to score the winning run.
-After back-to-back singles by the Falcons Sophomore
Hannah Richards shut the door with no runners scoring.
-In the bottom of the 8
th inning, Dominican got a one-out single by Sophomore
Sara Cornell, that was then followed by a Slavens walk. Olmos continued the inning with a 7-pitch, two-out walk. This brought home Salfi who delivered the game-winning hit to right field that scored Cornell.
Shining Stars:
-Senior
Paytin Salfi went 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Including the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 8
th inning.
-Junior
Liberty Rivard threw in 6.2 innings and held the Falcons to just one earned run.
-Sophomore
Madisen Butler rallied to a 3-4 game with a run scored.
-Senior
Ryley Davis went 2-4 with an RBI.
-Sophomore
Sara Cornell went 2-3 with a run scored.
-Sophomore
Isabella Olmos went 1-3 with 2 walks.
-Sophomore
Raegyn Davis went 1-3 with a walk.
-Junior
Emme Slavens went 1-3 with an RBI, a walk, and a run scored.
-Sophomore
Hannah Richards came in relief, throwing in 1.1 innings, and picked up her 15
th win of the season.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Butler (3)
Runs: Slavens, Butler, Cornell, and Salfi (1)
RBI: Salfi Ry. Davis, and Slavens (1)
2B: Butler (2)
SB: Olmos (2)
IP: Rivard (6.2)
What's Next:
Dominican University Softball finishes the regular season with a 25-15 overall record and 19-5 in NACC play. The Stars move to 27-16 on the season and advance to the NACC Tournament Final for a rematch against the Eagles of Benedictine University. Dominican will have to beat the Eagles twice to hoist the NACC trophy on Sunday afternoon. The first pitch of the NACC Tournament Final is set for 12:00 p.m. at Aurora University.
