The Valparaiso University softball team broke out the bats early on at the Green and White Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday, putting up 11 runs on three innings against Wagner before the game was suspended due to rain with Valpo leading 11-0. That game will be resumed on Sunday morning, while the originally scheduled game against College of Charleston on Friday afternoon has been canceled. Saturday’s games will be played as scheduled.

How It Happened

• Before the suspension of play, it was all Valpo, as the Brown and Gold put up multiple runs in all three innings.
• Valpo claimed the lead in its first turn at bat. Freshman Peyton Moeder (Shawnee, Kan./Mill Valley) delivered a one-out single and would later score on a two-out homer from sophomore Brittany Anderson (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll).
• Valpo opened the second inning with three consecutive hits, the last a run-scoring double by junior Hannah Dybalski (Lebanon, Ind./Lebanon) that scored freshman Taylor Herschbach (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township).
• Senior Jaymee Lawton (Goodyear, Ariz./Desert Edge [Utah Valley]) came home on a squeeze by junior Morgan Matalin (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point), and freshman Jaina Westphal (Waterford, Wis./Burlington) then delivered a sacrifice fly to score Dybalski and make it 5-0.
• Six straight hits, starting with a leadoff double from senior Carly Trepanier (Manteno, Ill./Manteno), resulted in three runs scoring to kick off the bottom of the third, as Anderson, Herschbach and Lawton all picked up RBI singles.
• Herschbach scored later in the frame on a double-play grounder, and Moeder capped the six-run inning with a two-run double that plated Westphal and Dybalski.
• Meanwhile, in the circle, junior Kelsie Packard (Beloit, Wis./Turner [Rock Valley College]) was in the midst of another strong performance. Through three innings, a walk and an error were the only blemishes on Packard’s record.

Next Up

Valpo (2-7) continues tournament play with a pair of scheduled games on Saturday, as the Crusaders face College of Charleston at 11:30 a.m. CT and host Charlotte at 4:30 p.m. Valpo and Wagner will resume this contest on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. CT, finishing it up before playing the scheduled game between the two teams that was originally slated in that time slot.