ROSEMONT, Ill. – A potentially huge day for the Lakeland University softball team turned dreary as Dominican University rallied twice in its final at bat to sweep both ends of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at The Ballpark at Rosemont.

The Stars came back to win the first game 4-3 and then came back again to take the second game 6-5. The Muskies dropped to 16-18 overall and are 10-8 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference after what has become a season of close losses in conference, with six of their eight conference losses coming by one run.

Lakeland was in prime position twice to take down the NACC leaders and defending conference champions and also bunch up the race for the regular season championship considerably. A pair of wins would've allowed the Muskies to draw within one game of the Stars in the standings and going into a final week where Lakeland plays its final three doubleheaders at home.

The Muskies led 3-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning in the first game and 5-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh in the second. In both cases, though, Lakeland was unable to close the deal and is now well behind Dominican (26-8 overall, 17-3 NACC) with six games to play.

The Muskies came back from an early 1-0 deficit early in the first game, tying it in the third when Abby Heitman (Jr.-St. Francis, Wis.) doubled to lead off and scored later on a sacrifice fly by Carlie Morrow (Jr.-Menasha, Wis.) and taking the lead in the fourth when Peyton Harlow (Jr.-La Porte, Ind.) tripled and Maddie Raske (So.-Tinley Park, Ill.) hit a sac fly. Lakeland added to the lead in the sixth when Jordan August (Sr.-Schererville, Ind.) singled, Harlow doubled and pinch runner Kaylee Hunt (Fr.-St. Paul Park, Minn.) scored on Raske's second sacrifice fly of the game.

Dominican threatened quickly in the seventh, with Hanna Voegtle leading off with a single and pinch hitter Raegyn Davis following with a triple to make it 3-2. Melanie Watters (Sr.-Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) came on to pitch for starter Natalie Ziebell (Fr.-New Holstein, Wis.) and initially induced a fielder's choice to cut down the tying run at home plate, but the Stars followed with a hit batter, a walk, a tying single by Gillian Czubernat and then a bases-loaded single by Paytin Salfi to bring in the winning run.

The Muskies bounced right back in the second game to score three runs in the top of the first. Lakeland was in complete control for the first 6 1/2 innings, adding single runs in the third and sixth innings, the latter giving the Muskies a 5-1 lead.

Dominican again wasted no time mounting a rally in its last at bat. Three straight singles to open the inning loaded the bases, and the Stars would then get a bases-loaded walk and a single to close within 5-3. Jacie Jones (Jr.-Prairie du Sac, Wis.) came on for starting pitcher Lily Pettit (Fr.-Rewey, Wis.) and briefly stemmed the tide with a fielder's choice to again get a force out at home plate, but another bases-loaded walk drew the hosts within a run and Davis hit a two-run single to win it.

Harlow paced the Muskies with two hits in the first game. Ziebell pitched six-plus innings and allowed nine hits and three runs. Lexi Howard (Fr.-Crown Point, Ind.) posted two hits in the second game, while Pettit also went six-plus innings and finished allowing 10 hits and six runs with two strikeouts.

The Muskies next face Concordia University Wisconsin Tuesday for two games starting at 3 p.m.