Valparaiso (17-17, 6-7 MVC)
April 8 - UIC (5-33, 1-12 MVC) - 3 p.m.
April 11-13 - Illinois State (12-25, 6-7 MVC) - 3 p.m., 2 p.m., noon

Next Up in Valpo Softball: It's a return home to the Valpo Softball Complex this week for the Beacons, as Valpo welcomes UIC for the series finale on Tuesday afternoon before facing off with Illinois State in a three-game series this weekend.

Previously: Valpo won four of its five games last week in Valley play. The Beacons swept a midweek doubleheader at UIC, 3-2 and 15-3, before traveling to Bradley, where they won the first two games of the series by scores of 1-0 and 8-4 before having their five-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 loss in the series finale.

Looking Ahead: Valpo returns to the road next week, playing a single game at Illinois on its way down to Nashville for a three-game set at Belmont.

Following Valpo Softball: All four 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 (86-84) 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 95th time on Tuesday. The Flames hold a 70-24 advantage in the all-time series, but it was the Beacons who claimed 3-2 and 15-3 wins in Chicago last week.

Illinois State - The Redbirds hold a 19-2 advantage in the all-time series, with 19 of those 21 meetings coming since Valpo joined the MVC. Last season, the Beacons dropped a trio of games in Normal by final scores of 10-0, 8-3 and 8-7, the last loss coming in walkoff fashion.

Scouting the Opposition: UIC - The Flames enter Tuesday's game with a 5-33 overall record and a 1-12 mark in Valley play, most recently taking the series finale Sunday at Murray State after dropping the first two games of the series. Dee Dee Caskey paces UIC in most offensive categories, as she hits .333 with 22 runs scored and 12 RBIs. In the circle, Alyssa McIntosh has tossed over half the innings and owns a 5.38 ERA.

Illinois State - The Redbirds enter the week with a 12-25 overall record and has matched Valpo in MVC play so far with a 6-7 mark. Most recently, ISU run-ruled Drake in its series finale on Sunday after falling in the first two games of the series. Abby Knight leads the Redbirds with a .299 batting average, while Delainey Bryant has a team-best 19 runs scored and Addison Masching has driven in a team-high 12 runs. In the circle, Hannah Meshnick has a team-best 3.07 ERA and has thrown nearly half the innings this year. 

Redbird Reunion: There's be familiar faces matching up this weekend when Illinois State comes to town. Valpo head coach Mike Armitage spent three years on staff at Illinois State, spending 2019 as a volunteer assistant before being promoted to a full-time assistant for 2020 and 2021. Armitage coached alongside current ISU head coach Tina Kramos all three of those years - Kramos was then the Redbirds' senior associate head coach.

Putting Together Wins: While Valpo dropped its series finale at Bradley, 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.

Rolling in Conference: Notably, all five of this 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 Sunday's loss, 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.

Looking For a Sweep: While Valpo wasn't able to complete the season sweep of Bradley on Sunday, it has another shot at a season sweep when it takes on UIC Tuesday. The Beacons are in search of just their second season sweep of an MVC foe since joining the Valley, as their only previous sweep was a three-game set from Bradley in 2018. Notably, Valpo's sweep of the twinbill in Chicago from the Flames was just the second doubleheader sweep over UIC in program history.

Earning the WWWWins: Freshman Erin Metz did something last week 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 on Tuesday, and turned around on Saturday and recorded both wins as the Beacons swept a 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. 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 and the middle game of the Bradley series. 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. The three saves last week give Lopez four on the season, already tied for sixth-most in a season in program history.

Players of the Week: Both of the aforementioned pitchers were named MVC weekly award winners on Monday, as Metz earned Pitcher of the Week honors and Lopez Newcomer of the Week accolades. It was Lopez's second Newcomer award of the year, while Metz became the first Valpo pitcher since May 2022 to earn the Pitcher of the Week award. It was the first time multiple weekly awards went to Valpo since Kelsie Packard was named both Pitcher and Newcomer of the Week April 30, 2018.

A Keen Eye: Heading into last week, Valpo had drawn 11 or more walks in a game twice in program history. The Beacons doubled that total last week, twice drawing 11 free passes - first in the nightcap of the twinbill at UIC and then in the middle game of the series at Bradley. 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, 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.

Speaking of Walks: For the second time this season, junior Mack Gallagher drew three walks in a single game in the series finale at Bradley, extending her season total to 27. Not only does Gallagher lead the Beacons and all MVC players in that department, she has already cracked Valpo's single-season top-10 chart, where she currently is tied for ninth - just three free passes away from the top-five. Gallagher - who carries an active 15 game on-base streak into this week - is also tied for fifth among MVC players with 28 RBIs this season.

Ms. Jackson Is For Real: Freshman Marissa Jackson enjoyed a strong week in the two spot in the batting order for Valpo last week, reaching base in all five games and posting a .467/.556/.467 slash line. The rookie stood out in the doubleheader sweep of UIC, going 5-for-7 with a walk. Over the five games, Jackson drove in five runs after entering the week with just six RBIs on the season.

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. 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.

Continued Success: Freshman Madison Vrastil kept her successful season at the plate going last week, going 5-for-15 with six walks for a .500 on-base percentage. Vrastil had two more multi-hit games, giving her 16 multi-hit games this 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, 46), stolen bases (3rd, 12), runs scored (25, t-4th), batting average (.393, 5th) and on-base percentage (.474, 6th).

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, 34 games into the campaign.

Pulling Out the Close Ones: Valpo went 2-1 in one-run games last week, improving the Beacons' record this year to 9-4 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.

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.