Valparaiso (13-16, 2-6 MVC)
April 1 - at UIC (4-29, 0-8 MVC) - 4:30 p.m. DH
April 4-6 - at Bradley (16-18, 6-4 MVC) - 5 p.m., 2 p.m., noon

Next Up in Valpo Softball: After two weekends of conference play at home, the Valpo softball team hits the road this week for a cluster of MVC games. The week opens with a doubleheader Tuesday evening at UIC before a three-game weekend series at Bradley.

Previously: The Beacons fell in mid-week action at DePaul on a walkoff in extra innings, and then went 1-2 in a three-game series with Evansville, dropping the first two games by finals of 7-5 and 6-4 (8) before scoring four runs in the final two innings for a 8-7 walk-off win in the series finale.

Looking Ahead: The first opponent of the week remains the same, but the site flips next week, as Valpo hosts UIC for a single game on Tuesday. The Beacons remain at home next weekend to host Illinois State for a three-game series.

Following Valpo Softball: All five games this week are scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN+. 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 (82-83) 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: UIC - The most common opponent in program history, Valpo and UIC will be meeting for the 93rd and 94th times on Tuesday. The Flames hold a 70-22 advantage in the all-time series, including wins in all three matchups last year - 2-1 (9) and 4-1 at Valpo and 2-0 in Chicago.

Bradley - The Braves own a 15-9 advantage in the all-time series and are up 11-8 since Valpo joined the MVC. Last season, Bradley won two of three in the regular season series, taking 7-4 and 3-0 (10) wins in the first two games of the series before the Beacons claimed a 3-2 (10) win in the finale. The two programs then met in the first round of the MVC Tournament, with Bradley earning a 2-0 win.

Scouting the Opposition: UIC - The Flames enter Tuesday's twinbill with a 4-29 overall record and an 0-8 mark in Valley play, most recently dropping a pair at Illinois State before having the series finale get suspended due to weather. Dee Dee Caskey paces UIC in most offensive categories, as she hits .330 with 21 runs scored and 12 RBIs. In the circle, Alyssa McIntosh has tossed nearly half the innings and owns a 5.84 ERA.

Bradley - The Braves come into the week 16-18 overall and 6-4 in MVC action, most recently taking two of three games at UNI - they will play a single game mid-week against Illinois State before this weekend's series. Kierston McCoy is hitting a team-best .320 and also paces Bradley with 23 runs scored and 21 RBIs. Sydney Kennedy has been the workhorse in the circle, sitting at 10-9 with a 2.47 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 127.2 innings of work. 

Back in the Windy City: If it seems like just yesterday that Valpo played in Chicago, that's because it nearly was. Tuesday's games at UIC mark the Beacons' second voyage to the Windy City in less than a week after playing at DePaul last Wednesday. It's the team's third trip to the Chicago area this year, as the Beacons opened the season at the DePaul Dome Tournament in Rosemont.

Fun Memories: For the six Beacons who were on the team two seasons ago, the return to Peoria will bring back some fun memories of the team's last trip to Bradley in 2023. That series opened with Easton Seib throwing a one-hitter - her second one-hitter in a four-day span - and Caitlyn Kowalski followed with a no-hitter the next day, the 12th known no-hitter in program history.

Walk It Off: Valpo closed its three-game series with Evansville last week with a bang, scoring four runs over the final two innings to walk off with an 8-7 win over the Purple Aces. It was the team's first walk-off win of the season and its third in Valley play over the last two years, as the Beacons walked off Bradley and UNI last season. Prior to that Bradley game last season, it had been over four years since the program's last walk-off win. Saturday was also Valpo's first walk-off win with two outs since a two-out, two-run single lifted Valpo over Western Michigan on April 17, 2019.

Rally Mode Activated: Saturday's win was notable not only for how it ended, but how the Beacons had to battle back to even get in a position to win the game, as they faced an early 5-0 deficit after surrendering five runs in the first inning. Valpo had not won a game after trailing by five or more runs since a Feb. 19, 2022 win over Lipscomb, when a 5-0 deficit after the top of the third inning turned into a 7-6 victory. Saturday was the first time Valpo surrendered five or more runs in the opening inning and won since perhaps the craziest game in program history — April 14, 2012 against Youngstown State, when YSU scored 11 first-inning runs and Valpo fought all the way back to win 13-12.

In Every Game: While the Beacons went just 1-3 last week, they had opportunities to win every game. At DePaul, they had a runner on third with one out in the seventh inning of a tie game, and then when the game went extra innings, scored one in the top of the eighth and were within one out of the win. In the opener against Evansville, Valpo had the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh inning, and in the second game of the series, had the potential winning run on base in the seventh.

Turning Two: After turning just five double plays in the season's first 25 games, Valpo matched that total in last week's four games. Against DePaul, it was a 5-3 grounder. In the opener against Evansville, it was a 6-3 grounder; in the second game, there was a 1-2-3 grounder and a 5-3 popped-up bunt; and in the series finale, there was a 7-6-4 fly ball where the runner left second early.

Doing It All: While pitching has been where most of Azalya Lopez's standout performances have come this year, she had a stellar day at the plate in the second game of the Evansville series. Lopez drove in all four of Valpo's runs in that game with a pair of two-RBI singles as she went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. The junior tied her season high with three hits, while the four RBIs tied a single-game high this year by any Valpo player. Lopez came back to earn the win in the circle in the series finale, her team-high seventh of the season - good for fifth among MVC pitchers.

Streaks Come To An End: Freshman Madison Vrastil had a pair of streaks end in the series opener against SIU as she went 0-for-4 at the plate, snapping a 13-game hitting streak and a 22-game on-base streak. The 13-game hitting streak was the longest by a Valpo player since Carly Trepanier's 16-game hitting streak in 2017. Meanwhile, the 22-game on-base streak - which opened her collegiate career - was the longest on-base streak by a Valpo player since Sam Stewart reached in 29 consecutive contests in 2017 and is tied for the fourth-longest on-base streak by a Valpo player since 1999.  Vrastil closed the series against Evansville with back-to-back two-hit games, giving her 14 multi-hit games this year - most by a Valpo player since 2017.

Among the Best: Vrastil ranks among the MVC's best in numerous categories. She ranks second in batting average (.406) and hits (41), tied for third in stolen bases (10), fourth in on-base percentage (.469) and 10th in OPS (.994).

Going to the Pen: Valpo has leaned on a trio of pitchers - junior Azalya Lopez, sophomore Sydney McDermott and freshman Erin Metz 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. The Beacons' pitching staff has just two complete games this season, 29 games into the campaign.

Pulling Out the Close Ones: Valpo's walk-off win over Evansville improved the Beacons' record this year to 7-3 in one-run contests. Valpo was just 8-11 in one-run games over the last two seasons. Notably, three of those wins came in one weekend, as all three of the Beacons' wins at the Marshall tournament came by a single tally.

Winning Record Into Conference: The Beacons entered MVC play this season with an 11-9 overall record. It was the program's best record at the start of conference play since 2018, when Valpo entered its first season of MVC play with a 12-8 mark.

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.

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.

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 at Marshall.