Valparaiso (7-6, 0-0 MVC)
at Marshall March Madness (Huntington, W.V.)
March 7 - vs. Loyola (3-15, 0-0 A-10) - 10 a.m. CT | vs. Buffalo (2-12, 0-0 MAC) - 12:30 p.m. CT
March 8 - vs. Loyola - 10 a.m. CT | at Marshall (6-11, 0-0 Sun Belt) - 3 p.m. CT
March 9 - vs. Buffalo - 10 a.m. CT | at Marshall - 3 p.m. CT

Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team faces its final early-season tournament of the season this weekend, making the trip to Huntington, W.V. for Marshall March Madness. The Beacons will take on Loyola and Buffalo twice apiece, as well as two games against the host Herd.

Previously: Valpo went 2-3 last weekend at the Lindenwood Invitational. The Beacons opened with a 1-0 win in extra innings over Green Bay before falling twice to the host Lions. After dropping a slugfest against Western Illinois, Valpo rebounded with a win over the Leathernecks to cap the weekend.

Looking Ahead: Valpo plays one final game before the start of conference play, making a stop on their trip back from Marshall to play at Northern Kentucky Tuesday afternoon. The Beacons then open MVC play at Indiana State next weekend.

Following Valpo Softball: All six games of this weekend's tournament will have live stats available via ValpoAthletics.com, while the games against the host will 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 (76-73) 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: Loyola - The second-most common opponent in program history, Valpo trails the all-time series with the Ramblers, 44-28. The programs last met in Loyola's final season as an MVC member in 2022, with Valpo taking two of three games in the season series.

Buffalo - Valpo has won both of its matchups with the Bulls, most recently a 2-0 win in Nashville, Tenn. in 2019.

Marshall - Valpo and Marshall have split four meetings, most recently each earning a win in 2021 as part of the Thundering Herd Round Robin.

Another Old Friend: In what has been a theme with this season's early-season tournaments, Valpo will be squaring up against a former conference foe this weekend. Valpo and Loyola shared conference affiliation in the North Star Conference in the 1980s, the Horizon League from 2008-13 and the Missouri Valley Conference from 2018-22. Notably, Valpo's first Horizon League tournament title in 2012 culminated with a pair of 2-1 walk-off victories over Loyola on Championship Saturday.

V Stands For Very Good: Freshman Madison Vrastil had the "worst" weekend of her young collegiate career last weekend at Lindenwood - worst being in quotes because a .389/.476/.556 slash line at the plate over the five games is nothing to sneeze at. Vrastil reached base in all five games, extending her on-base streak to 13 straight games to start her collegiate career - the longest on-base streak by a Valpo player since Carly Trepanier reached in 13 straight in 2019. She now has eight multi-hit games on the year after tallying two more last weekend, including a three-hit effort in the win over Western Illinois - her fourth three-hit game of the season, the most by a Valpo player in a single year since Jaymee Lawton had four such games in 2018.

Among the Best: Vrastil leads the MVC throught the first month of the season in hits (23), batting average (.489) and on-base percentage (.556), is tied for second in stolen bases (6), ranks fourth in OPS (1.216), is fifth in runs scored (13) and sixth in slugging percentage (.660). She ranks 28th nationally in batting average and 50th in on-base percentage.

Freshmen Stepping Up: A couple of Vrastil's fellow rookies had strong performances last weekend at the Lindenwood Invitational. Marissa Jackson went 4-for-12 at the plate with three walks, reaching base at a .467 clip. Sophia Leitzen earned the start in right field in both contests against Western Illinois, going 3-for-6 with a walk, a double, two runs scored and two RBIs over those two games.

Sydney's Stellar Starts: When sophomore Sydney McDermott has been handed the ball in the circle to start the game over the past two weekends, good things have happened. Last weekend, McDermott started three of Valpo's five games at the Lindenwood Invitational and allowed just one run in 15.2 innings of work in those three games, giving up just 11 hits and one walk while striking out 13. This comes picking up her first career shutout the previous weekend, striking out a career-high 10 in a blanking of UMES. In all, over her last five starts, McDermott is 3-0 with a 0.28 ERA, allowing just 15 hits and three walks while striking out 28 batters.

One is Enough: While the offense has starred for much of the early part of the season, a single run at the plate in extra innings was enough for Valpo to take down Green Bay last weekend, as the Beacons earned a 1-0 win in eight innings. Sydney McDermott and Erin Metz combined on the shutout - Valpo's first-such victory since a 1-0 win at Bradley April 15, 2023. It was its first 1-0 win in extra inning since prevailing 1-0 in eight innings over Cleveland State May 4, 2008.

W5: While Valpo saw its 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.

Crooked Numbers: Over the last two weekends, the Beacons have burst out in a big way at the plate in three separate innings. Against UMES at Presbyterian, 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. Last weekend at Lindenwood, it was another big inning as part of an attempted comeback, this time against Western Illinois as Valpo pushed across six runs in the fifth inning to cut a nine-run deficit to three.

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.

Country Roads: This weekend marks the program's third trip to the state of West Virginia in program history. Valpo traveled to Marshall for a doubleheader in 2009, and competed in the Thundering Herd Round Robin in 2021.

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 last of four weekends of action prior to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play, as Valpo played in tournaments hosted by DePaul, Presbyterian and Lindenwood prior to this weekend. Next week, the Beacons play a nonconference game at Northern Kentucky and then hit the road for their first MVC series at Indiana State before they come 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.

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).