Valparaiso (10-9, 0-0 MVC)
March 11 - at Northern Kentucky (7-12, 0-0 Horizon) - noon CT
March 14-16 - at Indiana State (5-17, 0-0 MVC) - 2 p.m. CT, 1 p.m. CT, 11 a.m. CT

Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team closes out preconference play with a stop on its way back from last weekend's tournament, playing a single game at Northern Kentucky Tuesday afternoon. The Beacons then open Valley play with a three-game set at Indiana State starting on Friday afternoon.

Previously: The Beacons posted a 3-3 record last weekend at Marshall March Madness - defeating Buffalo twice, splitting two games with Loyola and falling twice to the host Thundering Herd. All three of Valpo's wins came by a single run.

Looking Ahead: The home slate is scheduled to get off to its earliest start since 2015, as the Beacons are poised to host Southern Illinois for a three-game MVC series March 21-23.

Following Valpo Softball: The entirety of the Indiana State series is scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN+, while all of this week's games 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 (79-76) 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: Northern Kentucky - Valpo holds a 4-2 record all-time against the Norse, most recently winning two of three games in a series in Highland Heights in 2017.

Indiana State - The Sycamores own a 23-6 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo. The two squads did not meet up last season, with the last matchups coming in 2023 as ISU closed the regular season with a three-game sweep of the Beacons and then earned a first-round win over Valpo at the MVC Tournament.

Another Old, But Brief, Friend: In what has been a theme early this season, Valpo will be squaring up against a former conference foe in its final preconference game. This time, however, it was but a short time that there was shared affiliation, as Valpo and NKU overlapped in the Horizon League for just two seasons (2016 & 2017).

Double-Digit Wins: Valpo's win over Buffalo on Sunday was the Beacons' 10th of the season, already more victories than the program has had in four of the last five seasons. Coming in its 18th game of the year, it is the quickest the program has reached double figures in wins since the 2018 squad hit 10 wins in its 16th game.

Pulling Out the Close Ones: All three of the Beacons' wins last weekend came by a single run, improving Valpo's record this year to 5-2 in one-run contests. Valpo was just 8-11 in one-run games over the last two seasons. Notably, the Beacons earned a 1-0 shutout in eight innings over Green Bay at Presbyterian -  the program's first 1-0 win in extra inning since prevailing 1-0 in eight innings over Cleveland State May 4, 2008.

V Stands For Very Good: Another weekend of softball means another standout stat line for freshman Madison Vrastil. Over Valpo's six games last weekend, Vrastil tallied at least one base hit in every contest and finishing the weekend 9-for-19 with three doubles, posting a slash line of .474/.500/.632. She now owns 11 multi-hit games on the year, one shy of Regi Hecker's total of 12 last season which was the most by a Valpo player since 2017. Four of those multi-hit games have been three-hit efforts, the most by a Valpo player since Jaymee Lawton had four such games in 2018.

Going Streaking: Vrastil has been on base at least once in each of the first 19 games of her collegiate career, the longest on-base streak by a Valpo player since Sam Stewart reached in 29 consecutive contests in 2017. Vrastil is also carrying an active 10-game hitting streak into this week, the program's longest hitting streak since Carly Trepanier reeled off at least one hit in 16 straight games in 2017.

Among the Best: Vrastil leads the MVC in batting average (.485) and hits (32); ranks second in on-base percentage (.541), OPS (1.193), stolen bases (8) and doubles (7); ranks fourth in runs scored (15) and ranks sixth in slugging percentage (.652). Nationally, she ranks among the top-50 in batting average (23rd) and doubles/game (48th).

Going to the Pen: Valpo has leaned on a trio of pitchers - junior Azalya Lopez, sophomore Sydney McDermott and freshman Erin Metz (all of whom rank among the top-nine in the MVC in strikeouts) - for the vast majority of innings in the circle and hasn't hesitated to use multiple arms in the same game, even when things are going well. In fact, the Beacons have just one complete game through 19 games this season. Last weekend, Lopez picked up her save of the year with the final four outs of the win over Loyola, while Metz earned a save by tossing the seventh inning of the first win over Buffalo, her third save of the year - already tied for eighth in a single season in program history and tied for ninth on the career chart.

Gallagher Gone: Junior Mack Gallagher connected on her first two home runs in the Valpo uniform last weekend, going deep with a three-run shot in the win over Loyola and hitting a two-run bomb to account for all the Beacons' runs in their Sunday win over Buffalo. Gallagher's first two Valpo homers come after she hit 17 round-trippers in her two seasons at MSU Moorhead. The junior has racked up a team-best 18 RBIs to date, tied for sixth-most among MVC players.

W5: While Valpo saw a winning streak came to an end at the hands of Cleveland State to close the Scotsman Invitational, 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.

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.

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 on opening weekend, 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.

Hitting the Road: This week's games conclude a long and winding road for the Beacons before they finally get the chance to play at the Valpo Softball Complex. Valpo played in early-season tournaments at DePaul, Presybertian, Lindenwood and Marshall to open the 2025 campaign and play four games on the road this week before coming home to host Southern Illinois March 21-23. In all, Valpo is slated to play its first 23 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 math 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 opening weekend and in the second game against Loyola last weekend.

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 Feb. 22.

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).