Valpo (14-19, 3-8 MVC)
April 3 - at Illinois State (19-11, 8-4 MVC) - 2 p.m. DH

Next Up in Valpo Softball: It's a light week for the Valpo softball program this week, as the Beacons face just a Friday doubleheader at Illinois State at 2 p.m. 

Previously: Valpo led a Purdue team receiving votes in national top-25 polls after its first at-bat and was still tied at 2-2 through four innings before the Boilermakers pulled away in midweek action. The Beacons then hosted Indiana State in MVC play, winning the opener before having seventh-inning comebacks come up one run shy in each of the final two games of the series.

Looking Ahead: Valpo is slated to face Notre Dame next Wednesday in midweek action before returning home to the Valpo Softball Complex for a series against MVC-leading Belmont.

Following Valpo Softball: Both games at Illinois State are slated for broadcast on ESPN+ and 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 (34-49 [.410] at Valpo, 2nd season; 103-116 [.470] 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: Valpo owns just a 2-22 record all-time against the Redbirds, with all but two meetings occurring since Valpo joined the MVC prior to the 2018 season. Both of Valpo's wins in the all-time series came within that 2018 series in Normal. Last season, the Redbirds earned a series sweep by scores of 2-1, 6-2 and 5-1 at the Valpo Softball Complex.

Scouting the Opposition: Illinois State comes into the Friday doubleheader with a 19-11 overall record and is 8-4 in MVC play. The Redbirds earned a win at Illinois in midweek action after dropping two of three last weekend in a high-scoring series at UNI. 

The Valley Slate: For the first time since 2022, the MVC schedule is set up where every team is scheduled to play each of the other teams in the conference. However, with 10 opponents, each team has two opponents against which they are scheduled to play just a doubleheader as opposed to a three-game series. That means that this season is the first time since Valpo joined the MVC in 2018 that it will not face Illinois State three times. Thanks to weather and scheduling, UNI and Bradley are now the only opponents Valpo has faced three times in every season since joining the Valley.

Results Déjà vu: Each of the Beacons' last three weekends has played out the exact same way results-wise: a win in the series opener, followed by defeats in the final two games of the series. This sequence of results had occurred just twice since Valpo joined the MVC in 2018 before this recent stretch.

More BBs Than Ks: As we've moved past the halfway mark of the season, it's time to start looking at season-long trends, and one thing which jumps out immediately is this year's team has more walks (133) than strikeouts (119). Five regulars in the starting lineup have struck out seven or fewer times, while five players have walked at least ten times. No team in program history has ever finished a season with more walks than strikeouts - the 2012 team owns the best single-season ratio (191 BB/251 K; .761), while last year's team was close behind (170 BB/224 K; .759).

Nice Round Numbers: Only three players in program history have hit at least .400 in a season, only four have gotten on base at a .500 clip and only five have slugged at a .600 clip. But this year's team has players threatening to add to those ranks. Entering this week, Madison Vrastil is hitting .391 - good for seventh in the MVC. Meanwhile, Mack Gallagher owns a .509 on-base percentage - fifth in the Valley - and a .619 slugging percentage.

Peeking at the Record Book: While there's still 20 scheduled games left in the regular season, the program's single-season record book is already being impacted. Vrastil has swiped 20 bases this year, good for second in the MVC and already tied for eighth in a single season in program history - with 37 career steals, she ranks seventh in program history on that chart as well. She has also been errorless in the field, looking to join just three players in program history with a 1.000 season fielding percentage with at least 100 chances. Gallagher has drawn 29 walks this year, second-most in the MVC and already tied for seventh-most in a season in program history - with 65 career walks, she is also seventh in program history in that category. As a team, Valpo's on-base percentage of .387 is on pace to break the single-season record in that category, currently held by the 2015 team at .381.

Marked Improvement: Take a look at Valpo's top six hitters, and you see notable year-over-year improvement from 2025 to 2026. All six - Madison Vrastil, Marissa Jackson, Kim Rodas, Mack Gallagher, Kayden Krug and Kaia Garnica - have seen their batting average go up, with all but one boasting batting averages at least 50 points higher than 2025. That translates to OPS as well, as the sextet has an average 181 point increase in their OPS from 2025 to 2026.

V on Fire: While her 10-game hitting streak came to an end in the middle game of last weekend's series versus Indiana State, Madison Vrastil has still been on a roll at the plate recently. She has tallied multiple hits in seven of Valpo's last 12 games dating back to March 13, including her first career four-hit game at IU Indy. Over that stretch, Vrastil raised her season batting average 43 points to its current .391 mark.

Single-Game Records: Vrastil has impacted Valpo's single-game record book on a pair of occasions this season. The sophomore stole four bases on the season's opening day against Green Bay, establishing a new program single-game record, as the previous mark of three had been accomplished 14 times. More recently, Vrastil twice in a three-day span (March 13 nightcap at Murray State; March 15 opener at IU Indy) scored four runs in a single game, the 12th and 13th times in program history a player scored four runs in a game. Vrastil joins former Valpo greats Sara Strickland and Sam Stewart as the only players in program history to twice score four runs in a game.

No Running: Purdue learned quickly last Wednesday not to run on Vrastil's arm behind the plate. The Boilermakers' first two hitters in the lineup both singled before being caught attempting to steal second - the pair had been a combined 30-for-33 on the basepaths this season before Vrastil cut them both down. Vrastil is the first Valpo catcher to catch two runners stealing in the same inning since April 28, 2010, when Lisa DeBruzzi accomplished the feat at Wright State. She now owns an MVC-high 10 runners caught stealing this year. 

Getting On Base: Senior Mack Gallagher has been a consistent presence on the basepaths for Valpo this season. She opened the season with a 27-game on-base streak and has reached safely at least once in 31 of 33 games this year. Last weekend, Gallagher went 2-for-5 with four walks over the three games against the Sycamores, including the key three-run homer in the series-opening win. Gallagher has now reached base multiple times in a game on 15 occasions this year - twice in seven games, three times in four games and four times in four games.

Helping Hand From the Outfield: Outfield assists are not an everyday occurrence in softball - Valpo entered its series finale with UNI with seven outfield assists in its first 28 games this year. So when center fielder Marissa Jackson doubled up a baserunner in the fifth inning of the finale against the Panthers, and then Jackson and left fielder Kayden Krug were part of back-to-back putouts on the basepaths in the seventh inning, it was a rare sight indeed. It was the first time Valpo tallied three outfield assists in a single game since its Horizon League Tournament opener against Butler on May 10, 2012, while Jackson became the first Valpo outfielder with multiple assists in the same game since Taylor Lawson had a pair at Northern Illinois on April 14, 2015.

Walk This Way: Valpo's collective discerning eye at the plate has led to plenty of free bases. The Beacons have drawn five or more walks 10 times this season, highlighted by a 10-walk performance in the opening-weekend win over Oakland - tied for fifth-most in a single game in program history. With 133 walks on the season, Valpo is easily more than halfway to the program single-season record. 

Nonconference Success: Valpo hit MVC play with a winning record, as the Beacons sat at 9-8 through four weekends of play. This is the second straight season the Beacons have carried a winning record into Valley action, as they were 11-9 going into their MVC opener in 2025. Prior to last year, it had been since 2018 (12-8) that Valpo opened conference play with a winning record.

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.

Power-ing Up the Schedule: Since head coach Mike Armitage's arrival prior to last season, Valpo has had a marked increase in challenging higher-level opposition in midweek competition. This year's slate features five scheduled midweek games against Power Four and Big East competition (although the DePaul game was rained out), while last year's schedule had three such games. In the four years prior to Armitage taking over the program, Valpo had a combined two midweek games against such competition.