Valparaiso (1-9, 0-0 MVC)
March 4 - at Bellarmine, 10 a.m. CT | vs. Eastern Illinois, 12:30 p.m. CT
March 5 - vs. Eastern Illinois, 12:30 p.m. CT | at Bellarmine, 3 p.m. CT
March 6 - vs. Eastern Illinois, 11 a.m. CT
Next Up in Valpo Softball: The Valpo softball team continues early-season competition with a trip to Louisville, Ky. and the campus of Bellarmine University to face the Knights and Eastern Illinois. Due to forecasted rain on Friday, the five games over three days have been pushed back and will begin on Saturday, running through Monday.
Previously: Valpo went 0-5 last weekend at The Spring Games, falling to Siena, FIU, Dartmouth, UT Martin and Oakland.
Looking Ahead: The final weekend of nonconference action is on tap next weekend, when the Beacons head to Richmond, Ky. for a three-game series at Eastern Kentucky.
Following Valpo Softball: All five of this weekend's games will be video streamed on Bellarmine's BU Knights Sports Network. All games will have live stats as well.
Head Coach Meaggan Pettipiece: Meaggan Pettipiece was hired in September 2022 as head coach of the Valpo softball program. Pettipiece brings over a decade of experience as a collegiate head coach, most recently the last three seasons at the Division I level at Akron. Prior to her time at Akron, Pettipiece spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State and was head coach at Northwood for 10 years. Pettipiece, who owns 251 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: Bellarmine - First meeting.
Eastern Illinois - The Panthers hold a 14-4 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo, which includes a few years of shared conference affiliation in the Mid-Continent Conference. The two squads last faced off on opening weekend last season at the DePaul Dome Tournament, an 11-2 EIU victory.
What’s Back: Valpo returns 10 of 18 letterwinners from last season’s squad for the 2023 campaign. In all, 40.4% of Valpo’s plate appearances are back for this season and 63.6% of last season’s inning pitched return as well.
Who’s New: This year's 16-player roster includes six newcomers donning the Brown and Gold for the first time. A quintet of freshmen - Kaia Garnica, Kimberli Rodas, Lexi Szostak, Lyna Vasquez and Cadence Augustine - are joined by Kent State transfer Autumn Acord. While Garnica was sidelined on opening weekend, the other five all made their Valpo debuts at the DePaul Dome Tournament.
Back to the Derby City: While Valpo is playing at Bellarmine for the first time, the trip to the city of Louisville is becoming a familiar one for the Beacons. This is the third consecutive year Valpo has traveled to Louisville for preconference action, playing in tournaments at the University of Louisville each of the last two seasons. The program also appeared in an NCAA Regional at the U of L in 2012, coming within one out of an upset of the Cardinals and then dropping a one-run decision to Kentucky.
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 four weekends of action away from home prior to the start of conference play. The Beacons have a mid-week game at Illinois leading into their conference-opening weekend at Southern Illinois before finally opening the home slate at the Valpo Softball Complex March 24 versus Illinois State. All told, Valpo is slated to play its first 22 games of the season away from home.
Taking Free Passes: Through two weekends of action, this year's team has been much improved in terms of working the count all the way to a walk. The Beacons have drawn 33 walks through 10 games - their average of 3.3 walks/game is almost double their average from the 2022 season of 1.68 walks/game. In fact, while last year's squad did not draw more than four walks in any of its 47 games, this year's team has already drawn five walks in a game on five occasions. Leading the way with the good eye at the plate is Taylor Herschbach with six free passes, while Regi Hecker and Lyna Vasquez have each drawn five walks apiece.
Putting the Ball in Play: While the walks pile up, Valpo is maintaining its ability to avoid strikeouts at the plate as well. The Beacons, who led the MVC last year in fewest offensive strikeouts, are once again pacing the conference in that category. Valpo averaged just 4.64 strikeouts/game at the plate last season and is right around that mark again with 47 Ks through 10 games this year. Only once in the season's first 10 games have the Beacons struck out more than six times in a single game.
Turning Two: Defensively, Valpo turned a pair of double plays last weekend in Florida, with a conventional 4-6-3 twin killing against Siena and an unconventional 1-3-2 double play versus FIU. Through their first 10 games of the season, the Beacons are averaging a double play every other game defensively, which ranks them 18th nationally in double plays/game.
Three-Hit Finale: Junior Kayla Skapyak ended the weekend in Florida on a high note, picking up the first three-hit game of the season by a Valpo player as she went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI against Oakland. It was the first three-hit game of the junior’s career and the second time she has scored multiple runs in a game.
