Valpo (15-20, 4-9 MVC)
April 8 - at Notre Dame (16-22, 5-9 ACC) - 5 p.m. CT
April 10 - Belmont (27-9, 14-3 MVC) - noon DH
April 11 - Belmont - 2 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Softball: After taking one of two games last Friday against the then-second place team in the MVC, the Valpo softball team faces the top of the standings this weekend, welcoming Belmont to the Valpo Softball Complex for a three-game series. Prior to those matchups, the Beacons head east for a Wednesday contest at Notre Dame.

Previously: The Beacons earned a split of their Friday doubleheader at Illinois State, taking the nightcap 7-1 after dropping the opener. Mack Gallagher had five RBIs over the two games, while Azalya Lopez earned the win with 3.1 shutout innings of relief.

Looking Ahead: Valpo remains at home next Tuesday for an MVC doubleheader against UIC before making the trip to Drake for a three-game series on the weekend.

Following Valpo Softball: Wednesday's game at Notre Dame will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, but the weekend series will not be streamed. All 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 (35-50 [.412] at Valpo, 2nd season; 104-117 [.471] 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: Notre Dame - Valpo is just 11-38 all-time against Notre Dame, with its last win coming in 1989. In last season's matchup, a sixth-inning solo homer proved to be the difference in a 1-0 win for the Fighting Irish. Azalya Lopez and Erin Metz combined to limit Notre Dame to one run on five hits in the circle, while offensively, the Beacons left 12 runners on base in the defeat.

Belmont - Valpo owns a 4-8 record against the Bruins. In last season's series in Nashville, the Beacons took the middle game of the series, 3-1, but Belmont earned wins in each of the two games Maya Johnson started in the circle, 4-2 and 2-1. Azalya Lopez and Kim Rodas both had four hits across the three games, while Lopez also earned the win in the circle in the series' middle game.

Scouting the Opposition: Notre Dame - The Fighting Irish enter Wednesday's game with a 16-22 overall record, including a 5-9 mark in ACC play after getting swept in three games this past weekend at #10 Florida State. Ava Zachary is hitting a team-best .402 and has a team-high 20 RBIs, while Mickey Winchell paces the Irish with 25 runs scored. It's been mainly a three-pitcher mix in the circle: Kami Kamzik (5-4, 3.83 ERA, 51 K, 75 IP), Micaela Kastor (4-11, 4.30 ERA, 79 K, 94.1 IP) and Brianne Weiss (6-7, 4.96 ERA, 81 K, 66.1 IP).

Belmont - The Bruins enter the weekend series atop the MVC standings with a 14-3 record in conference action and are 27-9 overall. Belmont is led by All-American pitcher Maya Johnson, who is 19-1 this year - her lone loss a 1-0 defeat at then-#1 Tennessee - with a 0.53 ERA, a 0.58 WHIP and 265 strikeouts in 133 IP. At the plate, Rylee Spindler - last season's MVC Freshman of the Year - is hitting .450 with 27 runs scored and 25 RBIs.

Snapping Streaks: Valpo's win in the nightcap at Illinois State on Friday marked the program's first win over the Redbirds since taking the series finale in their first season as MVC foes in 2018, snapping a 20-game ISU winning streak in the series. The Beacons will attempt to snap an even longer streak when they face Notre Dame on Wednesday, as the Fighting Irish have won the last 37 matchups in the series, dating back to Valpo's last win in 1989.

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.

Front-Loaded Slate: When Valpo takes to the field against Belmont this weekend, it will not only be taking on the current MVC leaders, it will be adding to the Beacons' front-loaded conference schedule. Of Valpo's first five MVC series, four of them have been against four of the six teams which sit above .500 in conference play, while the fifth was against the team in seventh place. Valpo's first six Valley opponents currently have a combined MVC record of 52-30 (.634), while its final four currently have a combined MVC record of 21-38 (.356).

Talk About Small Ball: While the Beacons haven't been reliant on power hitting as a whole this year (58 extra-base hits versus 84 for their opponents), they took it to a whole new level in the nightcap win at Illinois State. Valpo tallied 11 hits, as well as three walks, in the win over the Redbirds - all 11 being singles. Ironically, it was the first time Valpo had no extra-base hits in a game with at least 11 base knocks since its last visit to Illinois State in 2024, while the last time it did so in a win came in the opening game of the 2016 Horizon League Tournament against Youngstown State. The Beacons also matched their season high in Friday's win with four sacrifice bunts, including back-to-back successful squeezes.

No Ks Necessary: While the offense was getting the job done with small ball in the Friday win over Illinois State, Caitlyn Quickle and Azalya Lopez were epitomizing the term "pitch to contact". The duo combined to get all 18 outs of the weather-shortened game without registering a single strikeout - in fact, Redbird batters had just four swing and misses over the six innings. 12 of the outs came via fly balls, two of which turned into double plays, while the other four came via grounder. It was the first time Valpo's pitching staff had a game where it didn't register a strikeout since its visit to Notre Dame last season, and the first time it did so in a win since a May 5, 2006 victory over UMKC. 

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 (137) than strikeouts (122). Five regulars in the starting lineup have struck out seven or fewer times, while six 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 .393 - good for sixth in the MVC. Meanwhile, Mack Gallagher owns a .520 on-base percentage - third in the Valley - and a .656 slugging percentage.

Peeking at the Record Book: While there's still 18 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. Gallagher has drawn 30 walks this year, second-most in the MVC and already tied for sixth-most in a season in program history - with 67 career walks, she is also seventh in program history in that category. As a team, Valpo's on-base percentage of .388 is on pace to break the single-season record in that category, currently held by the 2015 team at .381.

Marked Improvement: Valpo enters this week with five players batting over .300 this year - Madison Vrastil, Mack Gallagher, Marissa Jackson, Kim Rodas and Kaia Garnica - and all five have enjoyed notable year-over-year improvement from 2025 to 2026. All five have seen their batting average rise over 60 points from last season to this season, while the quintet also enjoys an average 223 point increase in their OPS from 2025 to 2026.

V on Fire: While she had a 10-game hitting streak come to an end during the Indiana State series, Madison Vrastil has still been on a roll at the plate recently. She has tallied multiple hits in eight of Valpo's last 14 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 45 points to its current .393 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.

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 33 of 35 games this year. Gallagher had a pair of multi-hit efforts in last week's twinbill at Illinois State, going 4-for-6 with a walk, a homer and five RBIs over the two games against the Redbirds. Gallagher has now reached base multiple times in a game on 17 occasions this year - twice in eight games, three times in five games and four times in four games. Her home run at ISU was her team-best eighth of the year, eighth-most in the MVC and just one shy of Valpo's single-season top-10 chart, while her five RBIs bumped her season total to 35, good for fifth in the Valley.

A Sigh of Relief: Senior Azalya Lopez was called upon in the circle with a one-run lead, a runner on base and two outs in the third inning of Valpo's nightcap at Illinois State. Lopez successfully got out of the inning, the precursor for a strong relief effort, as she tossed 3.1 shutout innings, scattering three hits, to earn the win. It matched Lopez's longest shutout relief outing of the season, as she also tossed 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen back on Feb. 28 at Lindenwood.

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 138 walks on the season, Valpo is in line to challenge the program's single-season record of 191, set back in 2012.

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.

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.