The Valpo softball team looked like it had taken control of its first-round MVC Championship game against Bradley in Des Moines, Iowa Wednesday afternoon as three runs crossed the plate on one play in the sixth inning of a tie game, but a replay review overturned the result of the play and the Braves went on to earn a 3-2 walk-off win in extra innings to bring the Beacons' season to an end.
 
How It Happened

• Bradley took the early lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.
• Valpo tied the game in its next time at the plate despite having just one ball leave the infield. An error, a Kayden Krug (Milford, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) double and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out. Sophia Leitzen (Orfordville, Wis./Brodhead) then worked a full-count walk to push the first Beacon run across the plate, and two batters later, Madison Vrastil (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew) beat out an infield chopper to make it 2-2.
• The teams combined for just one runner in scoring position from that point through the end of the fifth inning as the sides struggled to take control. Azalya Lopez (Corona, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt [MSU Moorhead]) retired 11 straight in the circle following a one-out walk in the second.
• Valpo put together a threat in the top of the sixth inning. Krug started things with a one-out single, Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) jumped on the first pitch she saw for a single of her own and Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) drew a walk to load the bases with one away.
• Leitzen stepped in and ripped the first pitch she saw back through the middle for a run-scoring single, and a misplay by the Bradley center fielder allowed the ball to get all the way to the wall, clearing the bases and giving Valpo an apparent 5-2 lead. But Bradley challenged the play for a Valpo runner leaving early, and upon review, the call was that a runner left early, overturning the result of the play and resulting in the second out of the inning.
• The threat wasn't done yet, however, as Leitzen stepped back to the plate and worked a walk to load the bases. But a strikeout kept it a 2-2 ballgame.
• Bradley got two on with two out in the bottom of the sixth before Erin Metz (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) got a strikeout looking to send the game to the seventh.
• Marissa Jackson (Willis, Mich./Huron) drew a one-out walk in the top of the seventh and stole second base during the next at-bat, but was unable to advance any further.
• A heads-up defensive play by Rodas in the bottom of the seventh helped send the game to extra innings, as with a runner on second and one out, Rodas took a groundball and was able to retire the lead runner at third — a play which proved crucial when the next batter singled.
• Valpo had another opportunity to pull in front in the eighth, putting two on with one out on back-to-back hit by pitches. A grounder moved both runners into scoring position with two away before another infield grounder squelched the threat.
• Bradley walked it off in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out infield single, scoring a runner who had reached on an error to lead off the inning.

 
Inside the Game

• Valpo was limited to just four hits on Wednesday, but drew five walks and had three batters hit by pitch as well.
• The Beacons were only able to turn those runners into two runs, however, stranding 10 runners on base — the ninth time this year they left double figures on base.
• Krug had Valpo's lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. The sophomore finished the season with 10 multi-hit games.
• Rodas reached base three times with a hit, a walk and a hit batter, while Garnica posted the rare 0-for-0 batting line by a starter, getting hit by a pitch twice and drawing a walk in addition to laying down a sacrifice bunt.
• Lopez tossed five innings of two-hit ball in the circle, striking out seven as she settled down nicely following the first-inning homer against her.
• Metz took the loss despite not giving up an earned run in her 2.2 innings of work, falling to 6-7 on the season.

 
Inside the Season

• Valpo closed the regular season with 20 victories, more than it had won in the last two seasons combined.
• In fact, the 20 wins this year are the program's most in a season since going 27-24 in 2018 in its first year in the MVC.
• In addition, Valpo has nine MVC wins to its name this year, also the most since the 2018 team.
• The Beacons scored the most runs in a single season since 2017, while the pitching staff's ERA was the best since 2018.
• As a team, Valpo drew 170 walks in 2025 — third-most in a single season in program history. Mack Gallagher (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) drew a team-best 36 of those free passes, third-most individually in a season in program history.
• On the other side of the free pass ledger, Garnica was hit by a pitch 11 times this season — the highest known single-season total for an individual in Valpo history.
• On the basepaths, Vrastil is tied for 10^th in a single season by a Valpo player with 17 stolen bases. Her 17 steals came on just 17 attempts, setting a new program standard for most steals in a year without being caught.
• Looking at the pitching staff, Metz made 44 appearances and Lopez 39 — tied for third and seventh, respectively, in a single season. The duo had four saves apiece, tied for sixth individually, while the team total of eight saves was just one off the program record.
• By virtue of allowing just two hits in five innings Wednesday, Lopez lowered her opponents' batting average to .218 — 10^th-best in a single season in program history, and the third-lowest in the last 28 seasons.

 
Inside the Careers

• The careers of three Valpo players who will graduate later this week came to a close with Wednesday's defeat.
• Kaiah Fenters (Speedway, Ind./Speedway) made 120 appearances in the Brown and Gold, Lauren Sena (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) saw action in 130 games and Lexi Szostak (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) took part in 105 games.