Valparaiso (2-7, 0-0 MVC)
Feb. 23-25 - at Frost Classic (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Feb. 23 - vs. Texas A&M-CC (6-2) - 9 a.m. CT | vs. UT Martin (2-5) - 11:30 a.m. CT
Feb. 24 - at Chattanooga (6-4) - 11:30 a.m. CT | vs. Georgetown (6-4) - 2 p.m. CT
Feb. 25 - vs. Ohio (6-4) - 9 a.m. CT
Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team heads back on the road this weekend, making its way to the Volunteer State for five games over three days at Chattanooga's Frost Classic. The Beacons will face Texas A&M-CC, UT Martin, Georgetown and Ohio in addition to the host Mocs.
Previously: Valpo bookended its weekend at the Pinnacle PC Invitational with wins, taking down Morehead State in the opener and finishing out the tournament with a win over Youngstown State. Kam Utendorf was named MVC Newcomer of the Week after slashing .643/.706/.786 over the weekend's five games.
Looking Ahead: The Beacons head to Bloomington, Ind. for the Hoosier Classic next weekend.
Following Valpo Softball: There will be no video streams this weekend. All five games will have live stats available, linked at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Meaggan Pettipiece: Meaggan Pettipiece was hired in September 2022 as head coach of the Valpo softball program and enters her second season in 2024. Pettipiece is in her 15th season overall as a collegiate head coach, most recently spending three seasons at Akron prior to coming to Valpo. Pettipiece, who owns 260 career coaching victories, was an All-American on the diamond and helped California University of Pennsylvania to a D-II national title in 1998 collegiately before playing internationally for Team Canada, including at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Series Notes: Texas A&M-CC, Ohio - First meetings
UT Martin - Valpo is 1-3 all-time against the Skyhawks. This is the second straight year the teams have met, as UT Martin earned a 12-0 win last season at The Spring Games.
Chattanooga - Valpo has dropped all three meetings in the series with the Mocs, the last of which was a 7-0 Chattanooga win as part of the 2012 Frost Classic.
Georgetown - Valpo won the only prior meetings between the two programs, an 8-0 blanking of the Hoyas at the Rebel Spring Games in 2007.
Who's Back: Valpo returns 12 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 49.4% 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 12 returnees and nine newcomers gives Valpo a 21-player roster forthe 2024 campaign. That's a five-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.
Hitting the Road: This weekend's games continue a long and winding road for the Beacons before they finally get the chance to play at the Valpo Softball Complex. This is the third of five weekends of action prior to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play, as Valpo already played at Texas A&M and Presbyterian and will also play in tournaments at Indiana and Omaha in preconference action. The Beacons will open MVC action with back-to-back weekends on the road at Evansville and at Drake before finally opening the home slate March 29 against Bradley. All told, Valpo is scheduled to play its first 29 games of the season away from home.
Newcomer of the Week: Sophomore Kam Utendorf became Valpo's first MVC Newcomer of the Week since May 2019 after slashing .643/.706/.786 last week. She had a trio of multi-hit games, including three-hit performances in both of Valpo's victories - going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base in the win over Morehead State and 3-for-4 with a run scored, two RBIs and two doublesin the win over YSU. Through two weekends, Utendorf’s .556 batting average ranks 26th nationally, while her .619 on-base percentage is good for 35th nationally.
Offensive Bests: Valpo exploded for 13 runs in its win over Morehead State to open last weekend, the program's largest scoring output since a 13-0 win over Wagner in March 2019. The Beacons closed the weekend with a 13-hit performance in the win over YSU, the program’s best single-game total since racking up 16 hits in a win over Holy Cross in Feb. 2022.
Multi-Hit Efforts: Utendorf was one of two Beacons with a trio of multi-hit games last weekend, as fellow sophomore Kim Rodas did so as well. Seniors Regi Hecker and Kayla Skapyak both had two multi-hit outings, while senior Alexis Johnson and Kaia Garnica had one apiece as well.
Different Run Producers: A pair of players helped Valpo earn the 8-5 win over Youngstown State to close last weekend with their first career multi-RBI games. Sophomore Kaia Garnica, who entered the game with two career RBIs, drove in three runs - including the runs in the third inning which gave Valpo the lead for good. Meanwhile, senior Kayla Skapyak - a slapper who came into the game with just two RBIs in 227 career at-bats - had a pair of RBI infield singles in the victory.
Making Debuts: All nine of Valpo's newcomers made their debuts in the Beacon uniform in the opening weekend of play, eight of those coming on opening day. Four of those debuts came in the season opener against Tulsa, as Kam Utendorf started at shortstop, Anna Wilming pitched in relief and Cici Wilson & Natalie Bush both appeared as pinch-hitters. Four more debuts came against Texas A&M, as Sydney McDermott started in the circle, Kayden Krug entered as a pinch-hitter and Carson Kuhlmann & Madison Stamper were both defensive replacements. Lana Tellez made her collegiate debut in the nightcap of the twinbill with Lehigh as a defensive replacement.
Hecker Hacking: Senior outfielder Regi Hecker started the 2024 regular season just as she closed the 2023 regular season. Hecker, who paced Valpo last year in batting average, hits, doubles, RBIs and stolen bases, closed 2023 by hitting .412 (14-for-34) with four multi-hit games over the Beacons' final 12 games of the regular season. Through two weekends this year, Hecker ranks second on the team and tied for ninth in the MVC with a .385 batting average and is getting on base at a .467 clip.
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.
