The Valpo softball team enjoyed its most prolific day at the plate in over seven years Sunday at the DePaul Dome Tournament in Rosemont, Ill., as the Beacons run-ruled Green Bay, 12-1, before closing the weekend with a 7-2 win over Detroit Mercy. The victory over Green Bay was the first as Valpo head coach for Mike Armitage.
 
How It Happened – Green Bay

• Valpo took the lead in the top of the first against the Phoenix and never looked back. Madison Vrastil (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew) led off the game with a triple and came home two batters later on a squeeze from Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central). Later in the frame, Azalya Lopez (Corona, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt [MSU Moorhead]) connected on an RBI single to make it 2-0 Beacons.
• Garnica registered an RBI single in the second and then capped a five-run third inning with a run-scoring double to push Valpo's lead to 8-0. Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) had a two-run single in the third frame, while Kayden Krug (Milford, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Lyna Vasquez (Moreno Valley, Calif./Valley View) posted run-scoring hits as well.
• Green Bay scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth to briefly take the game out of run-rule territory, but the Beacons put the game away with another crooked number in the fifth. Krug had her second RBI hit of the game and Natalie Bush (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) had a run-scoring knock as well, while Valpo took advantage of defensive miscues by the Phoenix for two more runs.

 
How It Happened – Detroit Mercy

• Batting as the visiting team for the second straight game, Vrastil put Valpo on the board immediately again. The rookie led off the game with a double and came around to score on a UDM error.
• The Titans answered with an unearned run of their own in the bottom of the first.
• Valpo took control with a four-run second inning. An RBI double from Marissa Jackson (Willis, Mich./Huron) and a run-scoring single by Lexi Szostak (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) gave the Beacons a 3-1 lead, and Vrastil and Szostak later scored on a pair of UDM errors to make it 5-1 through an inning and a half.
• The Titans got one run back in the bottom of the second, but that proved to be their last tally of the game, as they didn't get a runner past first base in the final five innings.
• An RBI ground-rule double from Bush in the fifth and an RBI single by Mack Gallagher (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East [MSU Moorhead]) in the seventh capped the scoring for the Beacons.

 
Inside the Games

• 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 on Sunday 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 36^th win all-time against Detroit Mercy, the most in program history against a single opponent.
• Vrastil enjoyed a huge day at the ballpark out of the leadoff spot in her second day of collegiate competition. The freshman went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two stolen bases against Green Bay, and followed by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored versus Detroit Mercy.
• The hitters immediately behind Vrastil did their respective job in both games as well. It was Vasquez hitting behind Vrastil versus Green Bay, and the junior reached base three times, going 1-or-2 with two walks and two runs scored.
• Against Detroit Mercy, Szostak was in the two-hole, and the junior went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
• Krug tallied the first four-hit game of her career against Green Bay and drove in a pair of runs as well. It was the first four-hit game by a Valpo player since Ryan Milkowski did so in the aforementioned Holy Cross game from 2022.
• Garnica drove in runs in each of the first three innings against the Phoenix to tie a career high with three RBIs, while also recording the second multi-hit game of her career.
• Lopez got it done in all facets in the opener Sunday, going 2-for-4 with an RBI at the plate and earning her first win at Valpo in the circle with four innings of two-hit softball, striking out six.
• Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) notched her first victory of the season against UDM, coming out of the bullpen to deliver 4.1 innings of shutout softball, striking out five.

 
Next Up
Valpo (2-2) will take one weekend away from competition before returning to the diamond in Clinton, S.C. at Presbyterian's Scotsman Invitational Feb. 21-23.