MILWAUKEE – The Alverno softball team made up its doubleheader with the Dominican Stars on Sunday afternoon on the Alverno Softball Field. The Inferno held an early lead in the second game but a stingy Dominican team came back to win 13-6, after winning the opener by a 20-0 score.
 
Sophomore Zimri Lemonds had three hits on the day to lead the way including her second double of the season, while junior Natalie Akin and freshman Sara Jankowski both had multi-hit afternoons.
 
The biggest offensive blast of the day came off the bat of freshman Izzy Luevano, who sliced an opposite-field home run to right field for three runs in game two for her first career home run.  Senior Lauren Greif also launched her first home run of the season, and first since she hit four her freshman season in the spring of 2018.
 
Also collecting hits on the day were senior Kaitlynn Schmick, who picked up a single, while sophomore Izzy Torres added a two-base hit.
 
In the circle, Schmick had a strong outing to open up the second game as she held Dominican to just two runs over the first four innings. Schmick ended up striking out eight batters on the afternoon, but was touched up for seven runs in the fifth and four more runs in the sixth inning.
 
Freshman Maggie Wilmot retired the side in order in her lone inning of work as she pitched the seventh in game two.
 
Earlier in the day, Greif got the start and yielded eight runs over 1 1/3 innings before Akin was touched up for eight more runs over 2 2/3 frames. Torres pitched the final inning and allowed four more runs as Dominican's offense was tough to slow down in the game one matchup.
 
Game 1
Dominican had 24 hits during the opener and scored crooked numbers in all five innings, including a pair of five-run frames in the first and fourth innings.
 
Alverno's offense struggled in the opener, with just one hit coming off the bat of Torres in the fourth. Akin was also hit by a pitch as the pair from California proved to be the only baserunners on the game for Alverno.
 
Game 2
Alverno was off to a quick start looking to erase the first game from its memory, as Schmick set down the Stars in order in the top of the first including the first two of her eight strikeouts.

The Inferno got a runner on first to lead off the game as Jankowski reached on an infield single, but the offense didn't click just yet. Schmick allowed a leadoff single in the top of the second but was able to avoid any other damage as she sent the game to the bottom of the inning.
 
In the second, Alverno sent nine batters to the plate, but did all the damage with two outs as Dominican retired the first two batters. Freshman Andrea Ramirez walked, followed by sophomore Megan Bradford getting hit by a pitch. Up next was Luevano, who sent a pitch over the right field fence to put Alverno ahead by an early 3-0 score.
 
Jankowski continued with another infield singled before Lemonds connected on a base knock to push Jankowski into scoring position. Akin drove in Jankowski with a third-straight single to put Alverno ahead by four heading into the third.
 
Dominican chipped away with solo runs in both the third and fourth innings as Schmick continued to limit the damage, while adding three more strikeouts to her ledger over the two frames.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Lemonds reached with a two-out double down the left field line, ahead of an Akin single to give Alverno a three-run lead at 5-2.
 
However, after getting the first two batters out in the top of the fifth, the next seven batters all reached and scored as the Stars took their first lead of the game at 9-5.
 
In the bottom of the inning, Greif got Alverno back within three with a solo home run to centerfield, making the score 9-6. Dominican added four more runs in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to seven.
 
Luevano walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth but was erased on a double play as Alverno's offensive was unable to string together any hits. Wilmot came on and retired the side in order in the top of the seventh, but Alverno's offense was unable to muster anything in the bottom of the seventh, as Dominican emerged with the 13-6 win.
 
Up Next
Alverno (1-5, 0-0 NACC North) will be home again on Tuesday, April 30, for a 3 p.m. doubleheader against Benedictine as the Inferno and Eagles will meet for the first time since April 8, 2019.
 
A reminder that only two spectators per student-athlete are permitted at the Alverno Softball Field. Fans are encouraged to bring their own chairs as the bleachers will be closed. The restrooms for spectators will be located in the Christopher Hall Lobby, across from the Athletic Field Parking Lot (Parking Lot C). Social distancing is expected, as is mask-wearing in the event that social distancing cannot be met.