Valparaiso (5-3, 0-0 MVC)
at Lindenwood Invitational (St. Charles, Mo.)
Feb. 28 - vs. Green Bay (4-5, 0-0 Horizon) - noon | at Lindenwood (5-7, 0-0 OVC) - 4 p.m.
March 1 - at Lindenwood - noon | vs. Western Illinois (3-9, 0-0 OVC) - 4 p.m.
March 2 - vs. Western Illinois - noon

Next Up in Valpo Softball: Coming off a 3-1 mark last weekend, the Valpo softball team continues early-season action this weekend at the Lindenwood Invitational. The Beacons will take on the host Lions and Western Illinois twice apiece and face Green Bay for the second time this season.

Previously: The Beacons posted a 3-1 record last weekend at Presbyterian's Scotsman Invitational, recording wins over the hosts (4-3), Monmouth (5-1) and UMES (8-0). Valpo nearly made it a perfect weekend, rallying with a six-run top of the seventh to tie its finale against Cleveland State, but the Vikings earned a 9-8 walk-off win.

Looking Ahead: Valpo plays its final early-season tournament next weekend, making the trip to Huntington, W.V. for five games over three days at Marshall March Madness.

Following Valpo Softball: All five games of this weekend's tournament will have live stats available via ValpoAthletics.com. All home games and most MVC road games will be broadcast on ESPN+, while select nonconference games will have video streams depending on the host.

Head Coach Mike Armitage: Mike Armitage (74-70) is in his first season as head coach of the Valpo softball program after being hired as head coach on June 6, 2024. Armitage came to Valpo following a successful stretch as head coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead, turning around the Dragons' program, and brings familiarity with the Missouri Valley Conference with a stint on staff at Illinois State. Armitage spent the last three seasons as head coach at MSUM, posting the first back-to-back 30-win seasons in MSUM program history in 2023 and 2024 after inheriting a Dragons program which had not finished above .500 since 2007.

Series Notes: Green Bay - Valpo trails the all-time series against the Phoenix, 26-20, but has won the last three meetings in the series - including a 12-1 run-rule win on opening weekend of this season at the DePaul Dome Tournament. Kayden Krug went 4-for-4 in that win, while Madison Vrastil tallied two hits and three runs scored and Kaia Garnica posted two hits and three RBIs.

Lindenwood - First meeting.

Western Illinois - WIU leads the all-time series over Valpo, 56-12, but Valpo has won the last six matchups dating back to 2014. The last meeting came at the DePaul Dome Tournament in 2023, a 1-0 victory for the Beacons. Easton Seib threw a six-hit shutout to earn the win, while Emily Crompton drove in the game's lone run with a fourth-inning double.

More Old Friends: In what has been a theme with this season's early-season tournaments, Valpo will be squaring up against a pair of former conference foes this weekend. Valpo and Green Bay shared conference affiliation in the North Star Conference (1989-92), Mid-Continent Conference (1993-94) and the Horizon League (2008-17), while Valpo and Western Illinois were in the Mid-Con together (1993-2007).

W5: While Valpo's winning streak came to an end at the hands of Cleveland State in last weekend's finale, the Beacons did reel off five consecutive victories dating back to opening weekend. It was the program's first five-game winning streak since the 2022 team won five in a row in early-season action.

Crooked Numbers: The Beacons posted a pair of large crooked numbers on the scoreboard last Saturday in South Carolina. In the day's opener against UMES, Valpo pushed across seven runs in the second inning of the run-rule win - the program's highest single-inning output since scoring eight in the third inning in a win over Bethune-Cookman Feb. 29, 2020. Then, in the finale against Cleveland State, the Beacons very nearly had an epic comeback win, plating six runs in the seventh inning to even up the game.

Snowmen: Valpo posted eight runs in each of its two games on Saturday at Presbyterian, the first time the program has scored eight or more runs in consecutive games since plating nine and 10 runs in back-to-back outings against Detroit in April 2017.

Finishing With a 0: Twice last season, sophomore pitcher Sydney McDermott threw a shutout through seven innings before losing it in extra innings. Saturday against UMES, however, she wouldn't even need seven clean innings to earn her first career shutout - five frames was enough as Valpo completed the 8-0 run-rule win. McDermott scattered three hits in the victory and struck out a career-best 10 batters, one day after allowing just one unearned run and striking out five in four innings to earn the win over Monmouth.

Terrific Start Continues for V: It wouldn't be easy to top an opening weekend where she was MVC Freshman of the Week after going 9-for-16 (.563) at the plate with six runs scored and three stolen bases while slugging at an .813 clip, but freshman Madison Vrastil gave it her best shot last weekend at Presbyterian. Vrastil went 7-for-13 with three walks and four runs scored over the four contets, including three multi-hit games - giving her six multi-hit games in Valpo's first eight games this year. She currently leads the MVC in batting average (.552, 12th nationally), on-base percentage (.606, 23rd nationally) and runs/game (1.25, 30th nationally).

Multi-Hit Games: Vrastil led the way last weekend as the Beacons had seven different players combine for 10 multi-hit games. Lexi Szostak also had multiple multi-hit games, banging out two hits apiece against Presbyterian and Cleveland State. Azalya Lopez had her first three-hit game in a Valpo uniform versus CSU, while Marissa Jackson had her first collegiate multi-hit game against the Vikings as well. Lyna Vasquez had her first career multi-game in the win over Monmouth, while Sophia Leitzen did so against UMES - notably, picking up the first two hits of her collegiate career in the same inning. Additionally, Kayden Krug had a two-hit effort in the win over Presbyterian.

Two Saves, One Day: Freshman Erin Metz seems to be finding her niche on the Beacon pitching staff early on this year, as she has already made six relief appearances. On Friday last weekend, Metz registered a pair of three-inning saves against Monmouth and Presbyterian - closing the door on the latter game with a strikeout with the potential tying run on second base. Over those two games, Metz tossed six innings of five-hit, one-run ball while striking out 10.

A Big Sunday: It was a noteworthy day on many fronts on Sunday, Feb. 9 as the Beacons run-ruled Green Bay, 12-1, and followed with a 7-2 win over Detroit Mercy:
- Valpo won two games on the same day for the first time since March 4, 2023, when the Beacons defeated Bellarmine and Eastern Illinois. 
- The Beacons' 19 runs were the program's highest single-day output since plating 22 runs in a doubleheader split at Northern Kentucky March 25, 2017. 
- The 11-run win over the Phoenix in the opener was Valpo's largest win since an identical 12-1 score in a victory at Stetson March 1, 2020.
- The Beacons racked up 16 hits in the win over Green Bay, their highest single-game hit total since a 16-hit effort against Holy Cross Feb. 19, 2022.
- Valpo's win in the nightcap was its 36th win all-time against Detroit Mercy, the most in program history against a single opponent.

Four For 44: Sophomore Kayden Krug was locked in at the plate in the win over Green Bay, picking up base hits in four consecutive innings from the second through the fifth as she went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. It was the first four-hit game by a Valpo player since Feb. 19, 2022, when Ryan Milkowski tallied four base hits against Holy Cross. It also was the first time a Valpo player has recorded a base hit in four consecutive innings since April 2, 2010, when KC Boldt did so at Detroit.

Showing Up in the Show Me State: While Valpo has had conference games in Missouri against Missouri State in the MVC and UMKC (now Kansas City) in the Mid-Con, this weekend marks the first time the program has traveled to the state of Missouri for an early-season tournament since the 2004 squad went to a tournament hosted by Southeast Missouri State.

Hitting the Road: This weekend's games continue a long and winding road for the Beacons before they finally get the chance to play at the Valpo Softball Complex. This is the third of four weekends of action prior to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play, as Valpo played its first weekend at the Rosemont Dome, played at Presbyterian last weekend and will play in a tournament at Marshall and a single game at Northern Kentucky in preconference action. The Beacons' first MVC series is on the road as well at Indiana State before they come home to host Southern Illinois March 21-23. In all, Valpo is slated to play its first 22 games of the season away from home.

Who's Back: Valpo returns 13 of 21 letterwinners from its 2024 squad for the 2025 campaign. The returnees accounted for 51.7% of the team's plate appearances and 46.3% of the Beacons' innings pitched last season.

Who's New: Coach Armitage brought a pair of transfers with him from MSU Moorhead - junior infielder Mack Gallagher and junior pitcher/infielder Azalya Lopez, both of whom were All-Conference honorees. In addition, the program welcomes nine freshmen this season as well.

A Large Roster: Do the match from the above two notes, and you find that this year's Valpo softball roster is comprised of 24 players. That is the largest roster in program history, topping the previous high of 21 players. Even more notable is that only two of this year's 24 players are seniors.

Taking Advantage of the Numbers: Coach Armitage has shown a willingness to utilize his large roster as much as possible. 20 players saw action against Butler and Cleveland State, while 19 players apiece appeared in the wins over Green Bay and Detroit Mercy.

Making Debuts: Eight of Valpo's 11 newcomers made their first appearance in the Beacons uniform in the season opener against Butler. Gallagher started at first base and Lopez in the circle in their first game at Valpo. Six of Valpo's freshmen made their collegiate debut against the Bulldogs as well: Madison Vrastil (started at DP), Marissa Jackson (started in CF), Erin Metz (pitched in relief), Sophia Leitzen (pinch-hitter), Brooklynn Couch (pinch-runner) and Kyndal Shively (pinch-runner). One of the three freshmen who didn't appear on opening weekend, Caitlyn Quickle debuted with two innings of relief in the circle against Cleveland State.

Workhorse in the Circle: Sophomore pitcher Sydney McDermott is the lone returning pitcher for the Beacons in the circle, coming off a freshman campaign where she tossed nearly half the team's innings. McDermott, who had seven starts last year where she gave up two or fewer runs while pitching at least six innings, became the first Valpo pitcher since 2008 to throw a complete game in three straight starts and give up three hits or fewer in all three with an early-season trio of games. She also carried shutouts into extra innings twice in MVC play and earned victories in the circle over UNI (second place) and Belmont (third place).