The Valpo softball team put together a seventh-inning rally in its series finale at Illinois State on Sunday, getting the potential tying run to the plate, but were unable to complete the comeback, falling to the Redbirds by a 7-4 final. Illinois State took Sunday’s opener as well, 17-0.

How It Happened – Game One

• Illinois State scored seven runs in the second inning and 10 in the fourth frame.
• Valpo loaded the bases in the top of the fifth on two walks and a single in an effort to get on the board, but the Redbirds closed out the win.

How It Happened – Game Two

• The Redbirds scored the game’s opening run on a two-out wild pitch in the first. ISU had a chance to add to its lead in the second with two in scoring position, but a foul-out behind home plate kept the margin just one run.
• Valpo evened the score in the top of the third, as Taylor Herschbach (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) knocked a single back through the circle to plate Kayla Skapyak (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) to make it a 1-1 game.
• The Redbirds plated three in their next turn at the plate to pull ahead 4-1 through three complete innings.
• The Beacons took advantage of a pair of Illinois State errors in the top of the fourth to make it a two-run game, with Lauren Kehlenbrink (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) crossing the plate in that inning.
• Illinois State got that run back in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out solo homer, and added two more two-out runs in the sixth to go ahead 7-2 into the seventh inning.
• Valpo put together a rally in its final time at the plate in the top of the seventh. Peyton Moeder (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) started things with a one-out infield single, and two batters later, Herschbach lined a triple to the right-center gap to bring her fellow senior home.
• Addi Weaver (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville) beat out an infield single which scored Herschbach to make it a three-run game. Kate Beckemeyer (Forsyth, Ill./Maroa-Forsyth [Parkland]) dropped a single into shallow left to make it two on with two away and bring the potential tying run to the plate, but a grounder ended the game.

Inside the Games

• Valpo tallied 10 hits in the nightcap on Sunday, the third time in MVC play the Beacons have reached double figures in the hits column — all of which have come in the last nine conference games.
• Weaver extended her on-base streak to 10 consecutive games — matching the season high for a Valpo player — as she drew a walk in the opener and delivered the seventh-inning RBI single in the nightcap.
• Alexis Johnson (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) had a hit in all three games of the series and picked up an RBI in the finale on Sunday.
• Three Beacons posted multi-hit efforts in the nightcap. Kehlenbrink had her sixth multi-hit game of the year, while Beckemeyer tallied two or more hits for the fifth time.
• Herschbach registered a pair of hits as well, including her first triple of the season, for her eighth multi-hit game of the campaign. She also drove in multiple runs for the second time.

Next Up

Valpo (12-31, 3-21 MVC) closes out the regular season next weekend as it hosts Evansville at the Valpo Softball Complex for a three-game series. The series is slated to begin Friday afternoon at noon with a doubleheader.