The Valpo softball team closed out its time at the Lindenwood Invitational in St. Charles, Mo. on Sunday afternoon on a winning note, getting a strong effort in the circle from Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) in a 4-1 win over Western Illinois.
 
How It Happened

• Valpo took the lead for good in the top of the second, as Marissa Jackson (Willis, Mich./Huron) beat out a one-out infield single and eventually scored on a grounder from Madison Vrastil (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew).
• The Beacons added a single run in the third courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Sophia Leitzen (Orfordville, Wis./Brodhead) and another tally in the fourth on an RBI single from Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central).
• The lead reached four in the top of the sixth thanks to an RBI double by Azalya Lopez (Corona, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt [MSU Moorhead]), plating Vrastil, who led off the frame with a triple.
• WIU scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh and was able to bring the potential tying run to the plate with two outs before Lopez recorded a strikeout to close out the win.

 
Inside the Game

• McDermott tossed five innings of shutout softball to earn the win in the circle and improve to 4-2 on the year, allowing just three hits and walking none.
• Over her last five starts, McDermott owns a 3-0 record with a 0.28 ERA, allowing just one earned run in 24.2 innings of work. In those five games, the sophomore has surrendered just 15 hits and three walks while striking out 28 batters.
• Vrastil extended her on-base streak to 13 consecutive games to open her collegiate career, coming up a home run shy of the cycle as she went 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
• Vrastil recorded the eighth multi-hit game of her young career, four of which have been three-hit efforts.
• Kayden Krug (Milford, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) went 2-for-3 with a run scored out of the nine-spot in the order, the sophomore's third multi-hit game this year.
• Garnica reached base twice as well with a single and a hit by pitch, the fifth time this season she has reached multiple times in a game.
• Valpo tallied 10 hits as a team in Sunday's win, the fourth time this season it has reached double figures in the hits column.
• The Beacons had 13 runners left on base, leaving multiple runners in six of seven innings. It was the team's largest number of runners left on since leaving 15 in the nightcap at Bradley March 30, 2024.

 
Next Up
Valpo (7-6) heads to Huntington, W.V. next weekend for Marshall March Madness, beginning with games against Loyola and Buffalo on Friday.