The Valpo softball team earned a split on its final day of preconference action Saturday at the Connie Claussen Classic in Omaha, Neb., ending the tournament with a 6-5 win over Rider after falling to Northern Colorado earlier in the day, 8-0.

How It Happened – Northern Colorado

• The Bears took the lead in their first turn at the plate, scoring three unearned runs. UNC added three more runs in the second.
• After being retired in order in the first three innings, the Beacons got their first baserunner with one out in the fourth on a single from Alexis Johnson (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central). Johnson proceeded to steal second to give Valpo a runner in scoring position, but back-to-back strikeouts kept it from cracking the scoreboard.
• Emma Harrington connected on a two-run homer for UNC in the bottom of the fifth to end the game via run rule.

How It Happened – Rider

• Freshman pitcher Anna Wilming (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) retired the first nine batters she faced in order.
• The Beacons took the lead in the bottom of the third, as a squeeze bunt by Kam Utendorf (Columbus Grove, Ohio/Columbus Grove [Black Hawk College]) dropped in for an RBI single, plating Lyna Vasquez (Moreno Valley, Calif./Valley View).
• Rider leveled the score with a single run in the top of the fifth, but the Beacons kept the Broncs from taking the lead by turning a double play on a pop-up with runners on second and third.
• Valpo responded by putting a crooked number on the board in its half of the fifth. Johnson and Utendorf connected on back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, both eventually coming around to score on a Rider error.
• Regi Hecker (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Blue Springs South) followed with a two-run homer to push the lead to 5-1.
• Later in the frame, Carson Kuhlmann (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) delivered a pinch-hit RBI double to cap the five-run inning.
• Rider erased over half the deficit in the top of the sixth with a three-run homer. Back-to-back walks to open the top of the seventh put the potential tying runs on board, but while a double scored the lead runner to make it a one-run game, a pair of perfect throws from Kayla Skapyak (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) in center field and Johnson at second base combined to cut down the tying run at the plate.

Inside the Games

• Valpo racked up nine hits in the nightcap, led by a three-hit effort from Utendorf to push her season batting average to .438.
• Hecker’s homer against Rider was her first of the season and the second of her career.
• Kayden Krug (Milford, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) also had a two-hit game against the Broncs.
• Johnson tallied a hit in each ballgame and stole her team-best 10^th base of the season against Northern Colorado.
• Wilming earned the win in the circle against Rider, throwing six-plus innings to improve to 2-2 on the year. After starting and taking the loss earlier in the day versus Northern Colorado, Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) came in and got her first career save in the victory over the Broncs, recording the final three outs.

Next Up

Valpo (6-15) opens MVC play next weekend at Evansville. The three-game series is slated to begin Friday evening at 5 p.m.