Senior Alexis Johnson (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) tallied three hits over Saturday’s pair of games for the Valpo softball team at the Pinnacle PC Invitational in Clinton, S.C., as the Beacons fell 6-2 to Morehead State and 6-1 to Presbyterian.

How It Happened – Morehead State

• The Eagles jumped on top in their first turn at the plate, putting three runs on the board in the top of the first.
• MSU added two more runs in the third to extend its lead to 5-0.
• Valpo cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, as senior Regi Hecker (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Blue Springs South) drew a one-out walk and came around to score on a grounder from sophomore Lexi Szostak (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) to make it a 5-1 game.
• Morehead State responded with a single run in the top of the fifth to push its lead to 6-1.
• The Beacons looked to put a rally together in the bottom of the sixth, when senior Emily Crompton (Salem, Ill./Christ Our Rock Lutheran) delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to score junior Kaiah Fenters (Speedway, Ind./Speedway). Following Crompton’s run-scoring hit, Valpo still had two runners on with just one out, but consecutive outs ended the threat.
• Valpo extended the game with two outs in the seventh on back-to-back base hits from Johnson and sophomore Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon), but was unable to get the potential tying run to the plate.

How It Happened – Presbyterian

• The Blue Hose opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first and added another single run in the third.
• Valpo got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, as Johnson connected on an RBI single to plate sophomore Kam Utendorf (Columbus Grove, Ohio/Columbus Grove [Black Hawk College]) to bring the Beacons with 2-1.
• Presbyterian answered immediately, however, pushing four runs across in the bottom of the fifth to cap the scoring.
• The Beacons put a pair of runners on base in both the sixth and the seventh innings, but were unable to convert any of those runners into runs.

Inside the Games

• Four different Beacons picked up hits in the opener against Morehead State, as they were limited to four hits as a team.
• Rodas reached base twice in the opener, tallying a hit and drawing a walk.
• Valpo racked up seven hits in the nightcap, led by a 2-for-4 effort from Johnson — the ninth multi-hit game of her career.
• Utendorf reached base in all three plate appearances against Presbyterian, going 1-for-1 with a pair of walks.
• The Beacons were held to 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position over the two games.
• Senior Caitlyn Kowalski (Temperance, Mich./Notre Dame Academy) was charged with the loss in the circle against MSU, starting and going 3.2 innings. Sophomore Cadence Augustine (Beaverton, Mich./Beaverton) threw 1.2 shutout innings of relief in that contest.
• Freshman Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) started and took the loss against Presbyterian, tossing 4.2 innings. Fellow rookie Anna Wilming (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Orange), who started the game at first base, moved over into the circle and registered the final four outs without surrendering a run.

Next Up

Valpo (1-7) closes its second weekend of competition Sunday morning with a 9 a.m. CT first pitch against Youngstown State. Live stats will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.