Valpo (6-7, 0-0 MVC)
at Lindenwood Invite (St. Charles, Mo.)
Feb. 27 - vs. Green Bay (0-11) - 12:30 p.m. | at Lindenwood (6-7) - 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 - vs. Western Illinois (5-9) - 4:30 p.m. | at Lindenwood - 7 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team competes in its final tournament prior to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend, making the trip to St. Charles, Mo. for the Lindenwood Invite. The Beacons will play the hosts twice, while facing Green Bay and Western Illinois once apiece.

Previously: Valpo posted a 2-4 record last week at the UNLV Rebel Classic, earning wins over Merrimack and Utah Valley. The Beacons put up 37 runs over their six games and had a team batting average of .341.

Looking Ahead: Valpo opens MVC play next weekend with a three-game series at Southern Illinois, which was picked third in the MVC preseason poll.

Following Valpo Softball: All four games will have live stats available via ValpoAthletics.com. Most 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 (26-37 [.413] at Valpo, 2nd season; 95-104 [.477] overall, 5th season): Mike Armitage is in his second season as head coach of the Valpo softball program after being hired as head coach on June 6, 2024. In his first year at Valpo, Armitage guided the Beacons to 20 wins - the program's winningest season since 2018 and an 11-win improvement over the previous season. Valpo posted a six-win improvement within MVC play, finishing with its highest total of Valley wins, its most MVC series wins and its best Valley regular season finish since 2018 as well. Prior to Valpo, Armitage spent three seasons as head coach at Minnesota State Moorhead, 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 Records: Green Bay - The Beacons and Phoenix will meet up for the third time this season, as Valpo earned 10-4 and 6-0 wins over Green Bay on opening weekend. GB still leads the all-time series, 26-23, but Valpo has won the last six in the series.

Lindenwood - The Lions emerged victorious last season in the only two meetings all-time between the programs, 4-2 and 2-1.

Western Illinois - The third-most common opponent in program history and the most common outside Chicago, Valpo trails the all-time series with WIU, 57-13. Since Valpo departed the Mid-Continent Conference after the 2007 campaign, however, it is Valpo with an 8-2 edge in the series. Last season, the two teams split two matchups, with WIU earning an 11-7 win before the Beacons took the second meeting, 4-1.

Fun With Weather: For the second time in three outdoor weekends, the Beacons have had their tournament schedule affected by projected weather before even departing for the tournament. This weekend, Valpo's scheduled second game against Western Illinois on Sunday has been canceled, while its start time versus WIU on Saturday has been pushed back as well.

Déjà Vu: No, the clock hasn't turned back to 2025. This is, in fact, the exact same tournament lineup on the same exact weekend as last year - Lindenwood hosting Valpo, Green Bay and Western Illinois on the season's fourth weekend. The Beacons' original game count was the same as well, as they also played Green Bay once and Lindenwood and Western Illinois twice at last year's event.

Swinging Hot Bats: The Beacons continued their strong offensive output in the early season last weekend at UNLV, hitting .341 and posting a .447 on-base percentage while scoring 37 runs over six games. Through three weekends of action, Valpo ranks 17th in on-base percentage (.460) and 54th in batting average (.331).

Walk This Way: A big reason for Valpo's continued offensive success on opening weekend is its collective discerning eye at the plate. The Beacons have drawn six or more walks in eight of their 13 games this year, highlighted by a 10-walk performance in the opening-weekend win over Oakland - tied for fifth-most in a single game in program history. Valpo currently ranks eighth nationally in walks (81), with four different players having already drawn nine or more walks.

Going Yard: Valpo connected on a pair of home runs last weekend at UNLV, one apiece in the two games against Utah Valley. In the first game against the Wolverines, Ava Goodman went deep - notably, that round-tripper came in her first collegiate plate appearance. Then, in the win over Utah Valley, Mack Gallagher touched them all with her second homer of the year, her eighth at Valpo and the 25th of her collegiate career.

Just Keep Reaching Base: Senior Mack Gallagher extended her season-opening on-base streak to 13 consecutive games as she reached at least once in all six games last weekend. She slashed .471/.591/.706 for the week and drove in seven runs. Her weekend was highlighted by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a walk and a three-run homer in the Saturday win over Utah Valley - setting her highs in her time at Valpo for hits and runs scored. She also delivered a pair of RBIs in the Beacons' win over Merrimack and reached base three times (two hits and a walk) against host UNLV. Gallagher ranks sixth nationally in walks/game (1.15) and 43rd in on-base percentage (.588).

Banging Out Hits: Sophomore Marissa Jackson had a team-best nine hits over last week's six games, going 9-for-19 at the plate with three runs scored. Her weekend was highlighted by a four-hit performance in Valpo's Saturday win over Utah Valley, tying her for second on Valpo's single-game hit chart. She now owns 19 hits on the season - already more than halfway to her freshman year total of 37 - and has a .487 batting average, good for 64th nationally.

V Races Into Record Book: One season after cracking Valpo's single-season top-10 for stolen bases by going a perfect 17-for-17, sophomore Madison Vrastil made her mark in the single-game department on opening weekend. Vrastil stole one base in the first inning, one in the second inning and two in the third inning of the Beacons' Saturday win over Green Bay, establishing a new Valpo single-game record with four stolen bases. Last weekend, Vrastil was 8-for-20 with three walks at the plate and stole six bases in as many attempts, improving to 12-for-12 on the bases this year - tied for eighth nationally in steals.

A Perfect Start: Valpo swept its four games on opening weekend at the DePaul Dome Tournament, starting 4-0 for the fifth time in program history and just the second time against all D-I opponents. The 2017 squad started 5-0 for the best start by a Valpo team, while the 1986, 2000 and 2002 teams all faced at least two non D-I opponents en route to a 4-0 start.

Plating Runs: The Beacons scored 33 runs over their four wins on opening weekend, plating at least six runs in each game. Valpo scored 11 times in the season-opening win over Detroit Mercy and 10 runs in the Saturday win versus Green Bay, the program's first time scoring double-digit runs in consecutive games since 2020, when it plated 11 against Bethune-Cookman Feb. 29 and turned around to score 12 versus Stetson March 1.

Walk It Off: After three big wins to start the season, Valpo faced adversity for the first time in its final game of opening weekend against Oakland, but successfully navigated an early four-run deficit, scoring three in the fourth and two in the fifth to take the lead. The Golden Grizzlies tied the game with a run in the top of the seventh before Mack Gallagher's RBI single scored Sophia Leitzen to walk off with a 6-5 victory. The walk-off was the Beacons' first since winning in their final at-bat against Evansville March 29, 2025. It was Valpo's first walk-off victory in nonconference play since a game-ending home run against Cleveland State March 8, 2020.

Who's Back: Valpo returns 15 letterwinners from last year's squad for the 2026 campaign, a group which accounted for 85.3% of the team's at-bats and 100% of the innings pitched last season. The Beacons also return two pitchers - Mia Carroll-Greeves and Kayla Purdy - who sat out the entirety of their first season on campus in 2025.

Who's New: Valpo welcomes six newcomers to the program this season. Transfers Grace Hollopeter and Cadan Brinkman join from Purdue Fort Wayne and Campbell, respectively, while Addie Young, Jenna Flessner, Lillian Martinez and Ava Goodman come in as true freshmen.

A Large Roster: Do the math from the above two notes, and you find that this year's Valpo softball roster is comprised of 23 players. While that is one shy of last year's team, which featured a program-record 24 players, it is still the second-largest roster in program history.

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 final weekend of action prior to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play, as Valpo has already played at DePaul, UT Martin and UNLV. The Beacons' first two MVC series are on the road as well, at Southern Illinois and at Murray State, while they also have a nonconference twinbill at Northern Kentucky between those two series. In all, Valpo has 26 games on its slate before the scheduled home opener against DePaul March 17.

Looking Back at 2025: Valpo won 20 games in 2025, more wins than the previous two seasons combined and its highest win total since the 2018 season. The Beacons won nine MVC games, also their highest total since 2018. Offensively, Valpo scored the most runs in a season since 2017, while on the mound, the pitching staff's ERA was the program's lowest since 2018.

Lopez Earns Preseason Honor: Senior Azalya Lopez was named to the preseason All-MVC First Team for her work in the circle and at the plate. Lopez - a Second Team All-MVC choice last season in her first year at Valpo - posted 10 wins, four saves, a 2.89 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 138 innings of work in 2025 while allowing opponents to hit just .218 off of her — the tenth-best mark in a single season in program history. She tied for the MVC lead in saves, ranked fifth in strikeouts and opponents' batting average, and eighth in ERA and wins. At the plate, the two-time MVC Newcomer of the Week hit .254 with 14 runs scored and 25 RBIs. Lopez led the team with 10 doubles and ranked second in both RBIs and walks (23). She found her groove in the batter's box during conference play, hitting a team-best .307 in MVC play with an .835 OPS.

Soaring Sophomores: A pair of Beacons who had strong freshman campaigns are back for their sophomore season in 2026. Madison Vrastil hit a team-high .333 as a rookie and posted an .818 OPS. Vrastil moved into 10th on Valpo's single-season steals chart with 17, third-most among MVC players, and ranked ninth in the Valley with 57 hits. She opened her career with a 22-game on-base streak, tied for the fourth-longest by a Valpo player since 1999.

In the circle, Erin Metz appeared in 44 games as a rookie, recording six wins and tying for the MVC lead with four saves while posting a 3.35 ERA and striking out 77 batters in 92 innings of work. She was named MVC Pitcher of the Week April 7 after going 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA the previous week, becoming the first Valpo pitcher to pick up the win in four consecutive games since 2008.

Return of the Mack: In addition to Lopez, head coach Mike Armitage had senior Mack Gallagher come with him from MSU Moorhead to Valpo, and Gallagher made a big impact in her first season as a Beacon in 2025. Gallagher ranked second on the team with a .392 on-base percentage, thanks in large part to drawing 36 walks - third-most by a Valpo player in a single season in program history, tied for second among MVC players and tied for 48th nationally in walks per game. She led the Beacons with six home runs and 30 RBIs as well.

Big Bat Incoming: Purdue Fort Wayne transfer Grace Hollopeter brings quite the resume with her to the Beacons' roster for her final season of collegiate softball. A two-time First Team All-Horizon League honoree, Hollopeter hit .415 with 12 home runs last season and led the Horizon League in slugging percentage (.800), on base percentage (.509), OPS (1.309), RBIs (53), doubles (14) and walks (25). The senior - who has seen action at catcher, around the infield and as designated player - hit .355 over her three seasons in the Mastodon uniform, totaling 154 hits, including 34 doubles and 27 homers, 81 runs scored and 111 RBIs.