Beacons Fall in Series Finale at UIC

Beacons Fall in Series Finale at UIC

The Valpo softball team closed out its Missouri Valley Conference series with UIC Tuesday afternoon in Chicago, falling 2-0 to the host Flames.

How It Happened

–        UIC opened the scoring on a two-out infield single in the bottom of the first.

–        The Beacons got a pair of runners in scoring position in the third, turning a pair of walks into runners on second and third with two out, but a groundout kept them from cracking the scoreboard.

–        The Flames strung together a trio of singles in the fourth for their second run.

–        Valpo got leadoff singles in the fifth from sophomore Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) and in the sixth from senior Alexis Johnson (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central). Both runners eventually advanced to second — Johnson on a stolen base — but could get no further.

–        The Beacons again got the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh as Rodas connected on a one-out single before back-to-back outs ended the game.

Inside the Game

–        Tuesday’s single game closed out the three-game Valley series between the travel partners. UIC had previously earned 2-1 and 4-1 wins in Valparaiso on April 9 and 10, respectively.

–        Rodas was the lone player on either side to finish with a multi-hit game Tuesday, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

–        Johnson’s stolen base in the sixth inning was her 15^th of the year, good for third in the MVC. The senior is now just two thefts shy of cracking the program’s single-season top-10 chart.

–        Senior Kayla Skapyak (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) joined Rodas in reaching base twice, as she drew a pair of walks. It was the third time in Skapyak’s career she has worked multiple free passes in the same game.

–        Freshman Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) took the loss in the circle as she tossed her eighth complete game of the year. McDermott surrendered just two runs in her six innings of work while striking out five, ending the evening by retiring the final eight Flames she faced.

Next Up

Valpo (8-37, 2-18 MVC) opens its final regular season series at the Valpo Softball Complex on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. when UNI comes to town.