Death. Taxes. Senior Day walk-off wins at the Valpo Softball Complex.
 
Okay, that might be overstating it a bit – the Senior Day walk-off wins aren't quite inevitable. But they are sure starting to feel that way, as Valpo earned its fifth such win since 2016 on Saturday afternoon. Fittingly, it was senior Grace Hollopeter (Lake Village, Ind./North Newton [Purdue Fort Wayne]) delivering the game-winning home run, scoring senior Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) ahead of her as the Beacons took down Bradley, 6-4.
 
The win in the nightcap gave Valpo the series win over Bradley in its final home series of the season after the Braves had taken the day's first game, 5-2.
 
How It Happened – Game One

• The two teams flew through the first five innings of the rescheduled opener, as Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth) was matching counterpart Kinsley Robertson zero for zero.
• The first runner for either team to reach scoring position came for Valpo in the bottom of the fifth, as Rodas drew a leadoff walk before moving to second on a wild pitch with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt moved the Beacons' pinch runner to third with one out, but Valpo's attempt at the squeeze failed as Bradley was able to get the out at the plate to keep it a scoreless game.
• In a 180 from the first five innings, Bradley's first four batters of the top of the sixth reached base, as a three-base error, a single, a triple and a single resulted in the Braves taking a 3-0 lead.
• Madison Vrastil (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew) connected on a one-out single in the Beacons' next trip to the plate and later scored on an RBI groundout from Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) to get the Beacons on the board. Valpo had the potential tying runs in scoring position before a strikeout ended the frame.
• Bradley added insurance in its half of the seventh on a two-out, two-run single for a pair of unearned tallies.
• Hollopeter lined a single into center field to lead off the bottom of the seventh and Sophia Leitzen (Orfordville, Wis./Brodhead) followed with an RBI double to make it a 5-2 game. Two batters later, Lyna Vasquez (Moreno Valley, Calif./Valley View) dropped a single into shallow left field to ensure the potential tying run would come to the plate, but Valpo's final two batters of the game were retired in order.

 
How It Happened – Game Two

• A two-out rally put the Beacons in front in the third inning of the nightcap. Vrastil was hit by a pitch, Marissa Jackson (Willis, Mich./Huron) lined a single the other way and Mack Gallagher (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) drew a four-pitch walk to set the stage for Garnica. The senior liked the first pitch she saw and sent it back up the middle to score the first two runners, giving Valpo a 2-0 edge.
• A two-out error proved costly for Valpo in the top of the fifth, as Austin Comstock took advantage of the extended inning to connect on a three-run homer, giving Bradley a 3-2 lead.
• After being victimized by an error in the top of the frame, the shoe was on the other foot for Valpo at the plate in the bottom of the fifth. Jackson reached on an error to lead off the inning and Gallagher followed with a base knock. Three batters later, Hollopeter drove a 2-2 pitch to the fence in left-center, putting the Beacons back in front, 4-3.
• A leadoff walk eventually came around to score for Bradley in the sixth on a two-out double, tying the game at 4-4.
• Maybe the most important play of the game — at least, up until the walk-off — came in the top of the seventh with one out. After a walk, the Braves had a fly ball to the outfield dropped by the Valpo defense — but the runner on first had to hold close in case it was caught, the Beacons recovered and Rodas made a nice stretch at second to narrowly force out that runner. That proved vital when the next batter knocked a single up the middle, a play which likely would have given Bradley the lead.
• Valpo's first two batters of the bottom of the seventh went down in order before Rodas drew a five-pitch walk to extend the inning. That set the stage for Hollopeter, who wasted no time, as she went after the first pitch she saw and drove it to deep left-center for the walk-off homer.

 
Inside the Games

• 2016. 2017. 2018. 2024. 2026. Five times in the program's last 10 Senior Days, Valpo has come away from the day with a walk-off victory.
• To put that into perspective, Valpo has 17 walk-off victories since the start of the 2016 season, and five of them have come on Senior Day.
• This is the second time in those five instances that both the winning run and the winning RBI came from seniors. The 2024 edition featured an RBI single from senior Regi Hecker to score senior Alexis Johnson and defeat UNI.
• This is the second time in those five instances that Bradley has been the opponent, as in 2018, a single and subsequent error allowed senior Lanie Callaghan to scamper home for the win over the Braves.
• This is the second time in those five instances where the walk-off has been a round-tripper. Morgan Matalin connected on a one-out homer in the bottom of the eighth for a 4-3 win over Wright State in 2017.
• Matalin also connected on an eighth inning walk-off homer in March of 2020 against Cleveland State — Valpo's last walk-off home run prior to Saturday.
• Saturday was Valpo's second walk-off win of the year, as the Beacons got a game-winning RBI single from Gallagher in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 win over Oakland way back on February 8.
• Bradley was on the opposite side of a Valpo walk-off for the third time since the program joined the MVC, as in addition to the two Senior Day wins, Alexis Johnson delivered an RBI double in the bottom of the 10^th inning in March of 2024 to down the Braves.
• The nightcap win secured the series victory for the Beacons, making it the second straight season they have taken the series from Bradley and the fourth time overall since joining the Valley.
• Hollopeter's walk-off homer put the perfect cap on what was an incredible Senior Weekend for the veteran. She tallied multiple hits in all three games, finishing the weekend 6-for-9 with three runs scored, eight RBIs, a double and two homers.
• Hollopeter had her second four-RBI game of the weekend in the win in the finale, after Valpo hadn't had a four-RBI game from a player all season entering the weekend.
• Jackson had a multi-hit game in the opener, her 10^th such game of the season, while Garnica had a pair of hits in the nightcap for her seventh multi-hit game this year.
• Vrastil had a hit in both games, giving her 59 hits on the year — tied for ninth-most in a season in program history and the most by a Valpo player since 2017.
• The sophomore reached a total of three times in the nightcap, also drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch. She also scored a run in both games and has now crossed the plate 36 times this year, just two shy of the program's single-season top-10.
• Gallagher drew a walk in both games, giving her 35 free passes this season to move into a tie for fourth in a season in program history. Her 71 career free passes as a Beacon are sixth-most in program history.
• Not far behind Gallagher on Valpo's career walks chart is Rodas, who drew a free pass in both games Saturday to give her 67 for her career — eighth-most in program history.
• As a team, Valpo is up to 168 walks this year, just two behind last year's total which ranks third in a single season in program history. The Beacons took five walks in the nightcap Saturday, the 13^th time this year they have drawn at least five walks in a game.
• McDermott appeared in the circle in both games Saturday, starting and going five-plus innings in the opener before throwing 2.1 innings of relief in the nightcap. Her 37 appearances in the circle this season are tied for ninth-most in a single year in program history.
• McDermott earned the decision in both games, moving her record to 9-11 this season. She struck out six batters in her 7.1 innings of work, bumping her career strikeout total to 237 K's — just three shy of the program's top-10 chart.
• Caitlyn Quickle (Leesburg, Ohio/Fairfield Local) did not allow an earned run in two innings of relief in the opener, while Azalya Lopez (Corona, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt [MSU Moorhead]) allowed no earned runs in 4.2 innings in her start in the nightcap.
• Hollopeter, Rodas, McDermott, Gallagher, Garnica, Lopez and Vasquez were all recognized following the doubleheader in the Senior Day ceremony.

 
Next Up
Valpo (19-29, 7-17 MVC) plays its final non-conference game of the season Wednesday as it travels to Illinois.