The Valpo softball team had a two-run lead after its first turn at the plate Wednesday evening in its nonconference finale at Illinois, but the host Fighting Illini scored six unanswered runs as the Beacons fell by a 6-3 final. Madison Vrastil (Oak Forest, Ill./Andrew) and Marissa Jackson (Willis, Mich./Huron) both had multi-hit games, while Azalya Lopez (Corona, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt [MSU Moorhead]) tossed 3.1 innings of shutout relief.
 
How It Happened

• The Beacons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard Wednesday. Vrastil led off the game with a double to the right-center gap and Jackson followed by beating out an infield single. Mack Gallagher (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East [MSU Moorhead]) then worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out.
• Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) stepped in and connected on a soft grounder to the right side. Illinois' first baseman came home with the play to try to force the lead runner, but Vrastil's speed allowed her to just beat the throw and score the opening run. Grace Hollopeter (Lake Village, Ind./North Newton [Purdue Fort Wayne]) followed by driving the first pitch she saw to medium right field, deep enough for a sacrifice fly to plate Jackson.
• Illinois answered in its half of the first with a two-run, two-out double to tie the game.
• Vrastil and Jackson connected on back-to-back two-out singles in the top of the second in an effort to put the Beacons back in front, but Gallagher's sharp grounder back through the middle was gloved by a diving effort from the Illinois shortstop, who flipped to second for the force for the final out of the inning.
• The Fighting Illini scored three more two-out runs in their half of the second to take the lead for good before adding another two-out run in the third.
• Lopez kept Illinois off the board from there, most notably escaping a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth with a strikeout.
• Valpo's offense was unable to generate chances in the middle innings to cut into the lead, as the Beacons had just one baserunner from the third through fifth innings. They had a great chance to add to their side of the board in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with two outs, but in what was seemingly a replay of the end of the second inning, Illinois' shortstop made a great diving stop on a sharp grounder up the middle from Vrastil and went to second for the force.
• Kyndal Shively (Bloomington, Ill./University) led off the top of the seventh with a single the other way and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a shot to the wall off the bat of Gallagher, making it a 6-3 game. But with the potential tying run standing in the on-deck circle, the next three Beacons went down in order to close the game.

 
Inside the Game

• In all four of their midweek games against Power Four teams over the course of the last month-plus, the Beacons jumped out to a lead in the top of the first. Valpo plated a pair of runs in its first time at the plate at Purdue and at Illinois, and scored single runs in the first at Notre Dame and at Indiana.
• Vrastil continued her stellar sophomore campaign, going 2-for-4 —her 21^st multi-hit game this season — with a run scored and a double.
• Vrastil is up to 61 hits this season, tied for seventh-most in a single year in program history. Her two-bagger was her 14^th of the campaign, moving her into a tie for eighth on Valpo's single-season chart — the most by a Valpo player since 2015. She is also just one run shy of the program's single-season top-10 for runs scored, as she crossed the plate for the 37^th time Wednesday.
• Jackson tallied multiple hits for the 11^th time this year, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored.
• Gallagher reached base multiple times as well, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. She moved into a tie for sixth in a single season in program history with her 42^nd RBI, while the free pass was her 36^th of the season — tied with her mark from last season for third-best in a year in program history.
• Lopez impressed both in the circle and in the batting order after entering the game in the third inning. She ended up throwing 3.1 innings of shutout ball, giving up just two hits and striking out three. The 3.1 innings matched her longest shutout stint out of the bullpen this season.
• At the plate, Lopez drew walks in both of her plate appearances, giving her 22 free passes this year — behind only Gallagher for team-high honors.
• Valpo drew four walks as a team Wednesday, pushing its team season total to 172 — third-most in a season in program history and surpassing last year's total of 170.
• Used mainly as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement this year, Shively took advantage of her one plate appearance Wednesday to record her first hit of the season.
• Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) started and took the loss in the circle, falling to 9-12 this season.

 
Next Up
Valpo (19-30) heads to Evansville for its final MVC series of the season this weekend. The three-game set opens with a Friday doubleheader.