The Valpo softball team kicked off its final home series of the season on a winning note Friday, as a three-run homer from Grace Hollopeter (Lake Village, Ind./North Newton [Purdue Fort Wayne]) was the big blow in a five-run fifth inning which gave the Beacons the lead for good in a 7-6 win over Bradley. With rain coming down throughout the game and starting to intensify a bit late in the contest, Friday's scheduled nightcap was postponed and the two teams will now play a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
How It Happened

• Bradley struck in its first time at the plate, getting a two-out RBI double in the top of the first to take the lead.
• The Beacons struck back with a pair of runs in their first opportunity. Marissa Jackson (Willis, Mich./Huron) took advantage of a Bradley error to reach and then raced all the way home from first on a shot to the right-center gap from Mack Gallagher (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East [MSU Moorhead]). After Gallagher moved up to second on a base hit from Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central), Kyndal Shively (Bloomington, Ill./University) pinch-ran at second base and came around on a shot through the left side from Hollopeter.
• The teams put up matching zeroes over the next three innings, but it wasn't for lack of baserunners. Both teams had a frame with a runner in scoring position and one out without scoring. Most notably, Bradley opened the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles, initiating a call to the bullpen for Azalya Lopez (Corona, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt [MSU Moorhead]). The senior came in and picked up consecutive strikeouts before getting a grounder back to the circle to keep the Braves off the board.
• Bradley put three runs on the board in the fifth, opening the inning with a double and a single before a three-run homer by Ashley Breeding to make it 4-2 Braves.
• But Valpo answered in a big way with a five-spot in its half of the fifth. Jackson singled and Gallagher walked to open the inning, but back-to-back outs put the Braves one out away from getting out of the inning. Hollopeter had other ideas, however, taking a 2-0 pitch and lining it over the fence down the left-field line for a three-run homer and a 5-4 lead.
• The Beacons weren't done yet, however. Sophia Leitzen (Orfordville, Wis./Brodhead) watched four straight balls go by to draw a walk and then scored on a line drive the other way from Lillian Martinez (Hemlock, Mich./Hemlock) which scooted all the way to the fence in left-center. Martinez completed the five-run inning by touching home on a double to the center-field fence from Lopez.
• A solo homer by Kierston McCoy with one out in the sixth cut Valpo's edge to 7-5 and prompted a return to Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) in the circle, who had started the game at pitcher. McDermott pitched around a two-out error to get out of that frame.
• Down to their final out in the seventh, the Braves made it interesting. A single and subsequent error gave them a runner in scoring position, and they cashed in on an ensuing run-scoring single, making it a 7-6 game with the potential tying run on base. But a highlight-reel play from Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) at shortstop closed out the win, as the senior laid out to her right to snag a low line drive and secure the victory.

 
Inside the Game

• The win is the fifth time this season the Beacons have captured the opening game of a weekend three-game MVC series.
• Hollopeter was the star at the plate, coming up clutch with her third multi-hit game of the season. Her four RBIs marked a season high by a Valpo player.
• Gallagher reached base three times, adding two walks to her RBI single. She has drawn 34 free passes this year, fifth-most in a single season in program history, and now owns 70 career walks in just two seasons at Valpo, tied for sixth in program history.
• Gallagher also bumped her season RBI total to 41, eighth-most in a campaign in program history.
• Led by Gallagher's pair of walks, Valpo drew five walks on Friday — the 12^th time this season the Beacons have worked at least five walks.
• As a team, Valpo has racked up 162 walks this year, tied for fourth-most in a single season in program history.
• Seven Beacons combined for the team's eight hits on Friday. Garnica joined Hollopeter and Gallagher in reaching base multiple times, picking up a hit and a walk.
• Martinez's fifth-inning RBI double was the first run driven in of her collegiate career.
• It's not every day you see a starting pitcher pick up a save, but that's exactly what happened Friday, as McDermott started and pitched into the fourth inning before exiting, only to return and record the final five outs of the game to earn her second save of the season. It is believed to be the first time in Valpo softball history that a starting pitcher has registered a save.
• The Valpo pitching staff has recorded eight saves this year, tied for second-most in a single season in program history and just one off the school record.
• All told, McDermott threw 4.2 innings, and while she had to deal with numerous baserunners, she handled the traffic on the basepaths well, only allowing one earned run.
• Lopez picked up the win as she was the pitcher of record during Valpo's five-run fifth when it took the lead for good — her insurance RBI double to cap that frame proving vital by game's end. The senior threw 2.1 innings to improve to 7-8 on the season.

 
Next Up
Valpo (18-28, 6-16 MVC) will complete its final home series of the season tomorrow with a twinbill against the Braves starting at noon. The program's Senior Day celebration will be held following the conclusion of the second game.