The Valparaiso University softball team continued spring break action Friday with a pair of games to open play at the Spartan Invitational, hosted by USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. The Crusaders fell in the tournament opener to SIU Edwardsville, 15-1, before losing 12-4 to the host Spartans.
In the opener against SIUE, Valpo found itself down 1-0 through two innings before junior Sam Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) launched her first home run of the season to right-center in the top of the third to even the score. But that would be all the scoring for the Crusaders, and the Cougars scored four in their half of the third to take the lead for good.
Four different Crusaders tallied a hit apiece in the opener, including a double for sophomore Taylor Nadler (New Haven, Mo./St. Francis Borgia). Senior Taylor Weissenhofer (Orland Park, Ill./Lockport Township) was the first of three Valpo pitchers and took the loss, falling to 0-3 on the year, while Ashley Koziol earned the complete-game win for SIUE (4-6).
Valpo would jump on top right away against host USC Upstate, which is receiving votes in the national top-25 poll, in the second game of the day. Junior Taylor Lawson (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) led off the game with a walk and stole second before Nadler delivered a two-out, two-run homer to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead.
The Spartans scored five runs of their own in the first and two in the second, but Valpo would fight back in its half of the third – again led by the effort of Lawson. The junior reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second with one out and would eventually score on a groundout to cut the deficit to 7-3. Sophomore Stephanie Moreno (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) followed with a solo homer to make it a 7-4 ballgame through two and a half innings, but USC Upstate closed out the game with a single run in the fourth and four in the fifth.
Valpo tallied just two hits against the Spartans, but both Lawson (two walks) and Nadler (home run, hit by pitch) reached base twice, while Lawson also stole a pair of bases. Senior Mollie Lindeman (Hebron, Ind./Hebron [PNC]) started in the circle for the Crusaders and fell to 0-2 on the season, while Kinsley Jennings earned the win in relief for USC Upstate (14-2), her first victory of the season.
Valparaiso (0-11) closes out its brief stay in Spartanburg with two more games on Saturday. The Crusaders take on Presbyterian at 10 a.m. CT before facing Elon at 2 p.m. Live stats for both games will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.
