Valparaiso (9-39, 3-19 MVC)
at MVC Tournament (Normal, Ill.)
May 8 - vs. Bradley (28-26, 15-12 MVC) - 1 p.m.
May 9 - at Illinois State (22-30, 16-11 MVC) - 1 p.m.
May 10 - vs. Southern Illinois/UIC/Murray State - 1 p.m.
May 11 - MVC Title Game - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team heads to the 2024 MVC Tournament this week in Normal, Ill. As the 12th seed, Valpo opens tournament play against fifth-seeded Bradley on Wednesday afternoon. The Beacons will have to win four games in a row in the single-elimination bracket to claim the tournament title.

Previously: Valpo acquitted itself well in a home series with MVC runner-up UNI in the final series of the regular season last weekend. After dropping the series opener 5-0, the Beacons rebounded with a come-from-behind 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon. Valpo then pushed the Panthers into extra innings on Sunday before the visitors came away 4-2 victors in nine innings.

Following Valpo Softball: Every game from the 2024 MVC Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Scott Warmann and Kerri Blaylock on the call for Valpo's first two games and Connor Onion and Laura Leonard for the final two games. Live stats for all of Valpo’s tournament games will also be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Interim Head Coach Laney Jones: In her second season on staff, Laney Jones took over as interim head coach of the Valpo softball program on April 1, 2024. Jones came to Valpo in October 2022 after spending the 2022 season working as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio. Jones pitched two seasons apiece collegiately at Ashland University (2018-19) and Marshall University (2020-21).

Series Records: Bradley - 9-14 overall, 8-10 since joining MVC; 1-2 this season
Illinois State - 2-19 overall; 2-17 since joining MVC; 0-3 this season; L16 streak (last win - 5/6/18 at ILS, W 4-1)

Hey, You're Not Indiana State: It'll be a sight for sore eyes when Valpo takes the field to open the MVC Tournament on Wednesday and doesn't see Sycamores in the opposing dugout. In five MVC Tournaments since joining the Valley, Valpo's first game has been against Indiana State on four occasions, including each of the previous three years.

Valpo in the MVC Tournament: Valpo holds a 2-5 record in the MVC Tournament in its five tournament appearances, with the 2020 tournament canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
2018 (#4 seed) - 1-1 - W 3-2 vs. Indiana State, L 2-0 at Drake
2019 (#10 seed) - 1-1 - W 5-0 vs. Evansville, L 4-1 vs. Illinois State
2021 (#10 seed) - 0-1 - L 9-5 vs. Indiana State
2022 (#10 seed) - 0-1 - L 9-5 vs. Indiana State
2023 (#12 seed) - 0-1 - L 4-1 vs. Indiana State

Record Book Watch: Senior Alexis Johnson tallied her 16th stolen base of the season on Saturday - third-most in the Valley - leaving her just one theft shy of cracking Valpo's single-season top-10 chart. Meanwhile, senior pitcher Caitlyn Kowalski started the middle game of the UNI series, making the 107th appearance of her Valpo career - tied for fifth-most by a pitcher in program history.

The Best Against the Braves: Some of Kowalski's best performances over the last two years have come against Bradley. She threw a no-hitter last season as a junior in Peoria, and this year appeared in all three games of the series between the two programs, posting a 1.24 ERA and a 1-0 record in 11.1 innings of work as the Braves hit just .190 off of her. Freshman pitcher Sydney McDermott stood out in the circle as well against Bradley, carrying a shutout into the 10th inning of her one start in the series. She ended up posting a 1.85 ERA and a .128 opponents' batting average in 11.1 innings this year against the Braves. At the plate, senior Regi Hecker was 4-for-9 and reached base at a .583 clip, while Kayla Skapyak was 3-for-7 and Emily Crompton was 3-for-10 with a pair of RBIs.

So Close...: While Valpo's final record in MVC regular season play was 3-19, there were a number of opportunities for the Beacons to pick up wins in those defeats if just one or two things break differently. Of Valpo's 19 Valley losses, three came at home in extra innings, three were walk-off losses in the bottom of the 7th on the road and two others came in games decided by two runs or less.

Battling the Panthers: The record might have been just 1-2 last weekend, but Valpo acquitted itself well against MVC regular season runner-up UNI to close the regular season. The Beacons took the middle game of the series, the first time since 2018 that Valpo has plucked a win off of one of the Valley's top two teams. The Beacons then pushed the Panthers into extra innings on Sunday as well before falling. Valpo actually outhit UNI over the three-game series, 21-19.

Stunning Rally: Entering the sixth inning of the middle game of the UNI series, Valpo trailed 4-0 and had not pushed a run across the plate in the last 23 innings. Which made what ensued over the next two frames even more stunning, as the Beacons scored two in the sixth and then walked off with a three-run seventh inning to pick up the 5-4 win. It was the program’s first win when trailing by at least four runs after five innings since March 21, 2009 against Detroit - that game saw Valpo overcome a 4-0 deficit with one run in the sixth and four in the seventh.

Seniors Closing Strong: Valpo's seniors brought their home careers to a close in strong fashion last weekend. Senior Caitlyn Kowalski started in the circle on Senior Day Saturday. Three seniors were then instrumental in the Beacons' seventh-inning rally for the upset of UNI - Kayla Skapyak scored the game-tying run and Alexis Johnson scored the walk-off run, driven in by classmate Regi Hecker. The lone senior position player not involved in Saturday's seventh-inning rally, Emily Crompton made up for it on Sunday as she recorded a three-hit game - the second of her career.

Flashing the Leather: The Beacons played flawless defense last week, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over their four games, tallying 87 putouts and 29 assists without an error while also making a number of sparkling plays. It is the second straight season Valpo has had a run of four consecutive errorless games - prior to last year, the program had not had such a run since 2013. Highlights of the week included second baseman Alexis Johnson handling 20 chances (10 PO, 10 A) perfectly and center fielder Kayla Skapyak tallying nine putouts in Valpo's Saturday win over UNI - the second-most by a D-I outfielder this season in a single game, and the most in a game by a Valpo outfielder in at least 25 years.

Queen AJ: Johnson's final regular season weekend defensively was just a microcosm of what she has brought to the field for the Beacons this year as she figures to be among the frontrunners for MVC Defensive Player of the Year. Playing mainly at second base, with a couple brief stints at shortstop, Johnson posted a .990 fielding percentage in MVC play, tallying 53 putouts and 47 assists while committing just a single error. To put it in perspective, of the 13 players with more assists than Johnson in MVC action, only one other committed fewer than six errors, while none of them had more putouts than she did.

Finishing Hot at the Plate: Johnson's bat has been a bright spot this season as well, and the senior closed with perhaps her best week of the regular season. Johnson closed out her final week of regular season play by tallying at least one hit in all four games, going 5-for-11 at the plate with a walk and three runs scored. She was perfect in three plate appearances in the series opener against UNI, going 1-for-1 with a walk and a sacrifice. In the middle game against the Panthers, Johnson contributed to Valpo's seventh-inning rally in the upset win with a bunt single and eventually scored the walk-off run. In the final game of her home career, Johnson went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. On the year, Johnson is hitting .276, leads the team in runs scored and stolen bases, and ranks second in hits and RBIs.

Hecker Hacking: Senior Regi Hecker has led the Beacons at the plate all season long this year after a strong close to last season. Hecker paces Valpo with a .319 batting average, good for 16th in the MVC. She also leads the Beacons in on base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, home runs and walks, while ranking second in walks as well. A member of the MVC All-Defensive Team a season ago, Hecker has been solid in right field all year this year, committing just two errors.

Freshman Hurler: Freshman pitcher Sydney McDermott had a trio of strong pitching performances to close the regular season last week. She opened the week with a complete game against UIC, scattering seven hits while allowing just two runs and striking out five. McDermott next toed the rubber in relief in the middle game of the series against UNI, and after surrendering two runs in her first inning of work, shut the Panthers out over the final five innings on just four total hits as Valpo earned the come-from-behind win. She returned in the series finale against UNI in a starting role, and after giving up two first-inning runs, kept the Panthers off the board for the next seven innings to help keep Valpo in contention.

Bright Moments: McDermott has had bright moments throughout the season, including games against Bradley and UIC which she shut out the opposition through regulation before allowing runs in extra innings. In the Bradley game, she held the Braves off the board into the 10th inning, in the process becoming the first pitcher in Valpo history to throw nine consecutive shutout innings within the same game. Saturday's win over the Panthers marked the sixth time this season that McDermott has tossed at least six innings and surrendered two runs or fewer.

Who's Back: Valpo returns 11 of 16 letterwinners from last year's squad for the 2024 season. In all, 69.2% of Valpo's plate appearances are back for this season and 43.1% of last season's innings pitched return.

Who's New: A group of nine newcomers joined the Beacons for the 2024 season. Kam Utendorf transferred in after playing her freshman season at Black Hawk College, joining eight true freshmen on this year's team.

A Large Roster: The combination of 11 returnees and nine newcomers gives Valpo a 20-player roster for the 2024 campaign. That's a four-player increase over last season's group of 16 players, and it is the largest roster the softball program has had since fielding 21 players for the 2008 season.

International Experience: Sophomore infielder Kim Rodas continued her international career playing for Mexico over the summer, as she earned a bronze medal at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games. Rodas previously medaled with Team Mexico at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games, where her squad claimed the silver.