Valparaiso (17-21, 6-11 MVC)
April 16 - at Illinois (17-20, 4-8 B1G) - 4 p.m.
April 17-19 - at Belmont (30-11, 14-4 MVC) - 5 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Softball: Valpo hits the road this week heading into the Easter holiday, as the Beacons take a brief step out of conference play for a mid-week game at Illinois before continuing on to Nashville for a three-game series against a Belmont squad which currently sits second in the MVC standings.

Previously: The Beacons saw their losing streak extended to five straight games last week, as they fell in mid-week action to UIC, 3-0, before dropping all three of their series against Illinois State by final scores of 2-1, 6-2 and 5-1.

Looking Ahead: Another road game outside of conference is set for the middle of next week, as Valpo makes the short trip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. The Beacons then return home to the Valpo Softball Complex on the weekend for their final home series of the season, welcoming Drake to town.

Following Valpo Softball: Wednesday's game at Illinois will be broadcast on BTN+, while all three games of the Belmont series will be broadcast 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 (86-88) 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: Illinois - Valpo is in search of its first win in program history over the Fighting Illini, as it sits at 0-8 in the all-time series. The last meeting came in Urbana on March 15, 2023, a 9-0 Illinois win, which was the first meeting in the series since 2016.

Belmont - The Bruins own a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series, with six of the nine games played as nonconference affairs. The two squads did not meet in 2023 in Belmont's first season in the MVC, while last year, Valpo won the series opener over the Bruins, 4-2, before Belmont came back with 12-1 and 8-2 victories to claim the series.

Scouting the Opposition: Illinois - The Fighting Illini enter Wednesday's game at 17-20 overall this year and with a 4-8 mark in Big Ten play, most recently earning a 2-1 series win against Michigan State. Eileen Donahue boasts a team-best .359 batting average and also paces the squad in home runs (8) and RBIs (28). In the circle, six different pitchers have seen action, none tossing more than 71 of the 234.1 innings this season. Megan Nuechterlein owns a team-best 3.68 ERA.

Belmont - The Bruins are 30-11 overall and enter the weekend second in the MVC standings with a 14-4 record in Valley play, having most recently won two out of three games at UIC last weekend. Belmont boasts one of the nation's most prolific pitchers, as Maya Johnson is 18-3 with a 1.07 ERA, a .145 batting average against and 261 strikeouts in 144.1 innings of work. At the plate, five Bruin regulars hit above .300, led by Rylee Spindler's .374 clip.

Making a Return: Wednesday marks a return to Eichelberger Field for Valpo assistant coach Addy Jarvis. Jarvis spent four seasons on the Fighting Illini roster (2020-23), winning 18 games in the circle and graduating from Illinois with a bachelor of science in molecular and cellular biology.

Tight Ballgames: Valpo played yet another one-run game last week, falling in its series opener to Illinois State, 2-1. The Beacons have played 14 one-run contests this year out of their 38 games and own a 9-5 record in such games.

Winning Series: While the Beacons dropped their series finale to UIC in mid-week action last week, they had already secured the season series thanks to a doubleheader sweep in Chicago the previous week - just the second doubleheader sweep of UIC in program history. Valpo also earned a 2-1 series win at Bradley as well.

Mack Attack: Junior Mack Gallagher reached base in all four games last week for Valpo, extending her current on-base streak to 19 consecutive games. She connected on a homer in the series finale against Illinois State, her team-best sixth homer of the season and her 29th RBI, good for eighth among MVC players. Gallagher also leads the Valley with 29 walks, a mark which is already tied for sixth in a single season in program history.

Continued Success: Freshman Madison Vrastil continues to rank not only among the MVC's best rookies, but among its best players, period. Vrastil had a multi-hit game in the middle game of the Illinois State series, her 17th of the season - most by a Valpo player since 2017. Owner of a 13-game hitting streak and a 22-game on-base streak earlier this year, both also the longest by a Valpo player since 2017, Vrastil ranks among the MVC's best in hits (2nd, 49), stolen bases (t-3rd, 12), , batting average (.377, 6th), on-base percentage (.456, 6th), doubles (9, t-7th) and runs scored (25, t-9th).

Putting Together Wins: While Valpo dropped its series finale at Bradley April 6, the Beacons had won five in a row prior to that point - their second five-game winning streak of the season. Prior to this year, the program had put together just one five-game winning streak in the last six seasons.

Conference Streak: Notably, all five of the most recent streak's wins came in MVC play. It was Valpo's longest conference winning streak since stringing together six MVC wins late in the 2018 campaign - also the last time before this last week that the program had won consecutive MVC series. Before the series finale loss at Bradley, Valpo had won four straight road games overall and five straight MVC road contests — both streaks the longest since the 2017 squad won six consecutive Horizon League road games.

Earning the WWWWins: Freshman Erin Metz did something no Valpo pitcher had accomplished since 2008 - earning the win in four straight Valpo victories. Metz picked up the win in both halves of the doubleheader sweep at UIC, and turned around and recorded both wins as the Beacons swept a series-opening twinbill at Bradley. For the week, Metz went 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA in her five appearances, surrendering just three runs in 15.2 innings of work as she earned MVC Pitcher of the Week recognition April 7. The last Valpo pitcher to score the win in four straight victories was Andrea Zappia, who accomplished the feat in April 2008.

That's All You Got, One         Hit: Metz tossed the first four innings of Valpo's opener at Bradley, giving up just one hit before turning the ball over to junior Azalya Lopez, who finished things out with three hitless innings in the 1-0 win. The one-hitter was the Beacons' best effort of the season and was the fewest hits allowed by Valpo since its last trip to Bradley in 2023, when Caitlyn Kowalski no-hit the Braves.

Closing the Door: Lopez picked up the save with her three innings of hitless work in the opener against the Braves, one of three saves she picked up on the week, as she also earned saves with three innings of work to close things out in the UIC opener April 1 and the middle game of the Bradley series April 5. For the week, Lopez posted a 2.10 ERA and a .216 batting average against along with 10 strikeouts in 13.1 innings of work and was named MVC Newcomer of the Week - her second weekly award this season.

A Keen Eye: Heading into this season, Valpo had drawn 11 or more walks in a game twice in program history. The Beacons doubled that total within a matter of five days, twice drawing 11 free passes - first in the nightcap of the twinbill at UIC April 1 and then in the middle game of the series at Bradley April 5. Both times, Valpo came up just one shy of the program record of 12, set against Bethune-Cookman in February 2020. 10 different Beacons drew walks in the UIC game, as Natalie Bush was the only player in that game to reach multiple times via the free pass, while Kim Rodas drew a team-best three walks to tie a career best in the Bradley game.

Coming Home: While the walks dominated the box score in the UIC nightcap April 1, the record the Beacons matched that day was in the runs department. Batting in the nine spot in the lineup, Carson Kuhlmann scored four runs to tie a Valpo single-game record, previously accomplished 10 times - most recently by Alexis Johnson last season. Valpo scored 15 runs as a team in that win over the Flames, its largest output ever against UIC and the program's highest single-game run total since plating 24 against Seton Hall in February 2014.

Walk It Off: Valpo closed its three-game series with Evansville with a bang, scoring four runs over the final two innings to walk off with an 8-7 win over the Purple Aces on March 29. 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. It 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. The win was also notable for 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. It 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.

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, 38 games into the campaign.

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.

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.