Valpo Repeats as HL Softball Champions!

[valpopal]

Congratulations to the ladies! The championship game was entertaining to watch. (Appreciative again of the HL Network.)

[valporun]

Yes, the game was rather nail biting fun! The video was great to have as well. Without HLN, no one would have known Valpo won, unless they were in attendance, for a few hours.

[valpotx]

Great job ladies!  Let's play some tough teams well again in the NCAA tourney, and maybe pull one out this year!

[Pgmado]

That's incorrect. Game was also available on WVUR (Thanks to Aaron Leavitt and Michael Gallenberger). Several people were also live-tweeting the game.

[valpotx]

Btw, what gets into Angie Doerffler once we get into the HL tournament?  I believe she was the MVP of last year's tourney, and she was all-tournament again this year.  Even when she has had a down year at 0.200, she still hits when it mattered most 

[Valposter]

Congrats to Valpo Softball for back to back HL Tournament Championships and NCAA Regional births!!!!!  With a positive NCAA tournament experience from last year to leverage, who knows what great things this year's NCAA Tournament may bring to Valpo Softball!!! 

Go Valpo Softball!!!!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

NCAA Regional births

let's not have any of those, at least in our starting lineup

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Well, no one has posted this yet, but last year I dodged a bullet--we didn't play Michigan even though we were in the same pod.

Can't dodge it twice in a year.  Good news is we're just 3 hours away up I-94 in America's finest college town.  The bad news is we have to play Sierra Romero and the Wolverines.

Ann Arbor Regional – May 17-19 at Ann Arbor, Mich.
California (36-17) vs. Central Michigan (33-18)
Valparaiso (34-25) vs. No. 8 seed Michigan* (45-10)  6 PM Friday (ESPN 3)

http://www.valpoathletics.com/softball/news/2012-13/12737/crusaders-heading-to-ann-arbor-for-ncaa-tournament/

Central is eminently beatable, should we fail to shock the nation in game 1.

[valpotx]

Definitely a chance to win a game in this regional (CMU).  I don't know about being able to do anything against Michigan or Cal, but I am sure we will play them tough again!

[jetz]

I had the chance to sneak over to the UIC softball field in the middle of the baseball game last weekend to catch the last few outs of the championship softball game.  I really enjoyed watching this faster paced game.  Here's a link to a few pictures I took and put into a Google + album.  They are uncropped and unedited, but anyone can download and do what they like with them.  Boomdad, can you pass these on to the other softball folks, and let me know if you are able to download, please?  Congrats on a great season!  While I am a Michigan man from '85, I hope the Crusader ladies can shock 'em in the Regional.  GO VALPO!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107694216823525506352/albums/5877492231921532913

[LaPorteAveApostle]

While I am a Michigan man from '85, I hope the Crusader ladies can shock 'em in the Regional.  GO VALPO!

Ditto from a Michigan Man who only has like 20 credits at VU

[covufan]

Congrats to the Ladies!

[new2ff]

Michigan can be beat, but it will take a combination of long ball, short game & manufacturing runs on the bases. They should not be an 8 seed imo.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

They should not be an 8 seed imo.

I agree--I think they should be higher...however it strikes me that you seem to imply the opposite?

[new2ff]

They should not be an 8 seed imo.

I agree--I think they should be higher...however it strikes me that you seem to imply the opposite?

I see them as a # 12-14 at best...jmo
Consider this, they played only Nebraska of the top 4 teams in conference. I believe Nebraska beat them twice. They did not play Wisconsin or Mn.
They started off with some very good wins & after that more or less coasted in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, they have a very good team, but I think can be beat. I don't know anything about Valpo's pitching & if it can stand up to the Michigan bats, if it can they could make a game of it.
If both Michigan & California avoid upsets, that could be an interesting game.

[valpotx]

We lost to a 53-6 Michigan team 2 seasons ago 2-1 in the early season play.  We have shown that we can play with them in the past!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I believe Nebraska beat them twice. They did not play Wisconsin or Mn.

Yeah, NE took us 2 of 3.  We lost to Wisco in the tournament. 

But perhaps you may be right...only 6-6 vs. ranked teams.  Did thump then-#9 A&M (now 16 seed) and knock off #2 ASU though (now 5 seed).

Even more of a down year for my favorite girls, the defending champs from Alabama :/

[new2ff]

I believe Nebraska beat them twice. They did not play Wisconsin or Mn.

Yeah, NE took us 2 of 3.  We lost to Wisco in the tournament. 

But perhaps you may be right...only 6-6 vs. ranked teams.  Did thump then-#9 A&M (now 16 seed) and knock off #2 ASU though (now 5 seed).

Even more of a down year for my favorite girls, the defending champs from Alabama :/

Alabama pitcher seems to be having some problems, I wonder if maybe she threw too many innings?
All in all softball is getting better across the country & there are many good teams out there.

Valpo softball is an example of a program that has come a long ways over the past few years, they use to be a doormat & now have back to back NCAA appearances

[valpotx]

Yeah, softball was bad when I was in school, winning 17, 7, 14, 7, and 21 games in the 5 years.  It looks like they started to turn the corner in 2006 and 2007, our last 2 years in the Mid-Con.  We have been decent/good our entire time in the HL.

Edit:  I was looking at our all-time records against other schools, and noticed that they have both Missouri State and SW Missouri State.  Hopefully someone else notices this error, as it is the same school.

[valporun]

tx, I remember those bad softball teams from our college days. It was no fun walking over to Kirchoff Park to watch bad softball coached by Jerry Steiger. I recall the year that he announced he was stepping down, some of the softball girls told me they were immediately getting on their phones calling home to tell their parents the good news.

In terms of our pitching, I hope it can hold up this weekend. Most of our pitching starts came from the two freshmen, Taylor Weissenhoffer and Sierra Pico, with a small handful of games being started by Amanda Bolton. Yes, Taylor and Sierra started a lot of games this season, but we're going to need to see them pick up quite a bit of pitching maturity this weekend, as they are inexperienced in NCAA postseason games. Hopefully, we can start Taylor or Sierra, and give either one a couple of innings off, not for confidence purposes, but more for rest needs. We did kind of see that in the last couple of innings on Saturday, when Sierra came in for Taylor. Let's hope they are both mentally ready for this opportunity.

In terms of Missouri State/SW Missouri State, even if they are the same school, most historical records count them as separate schools, because they had that different identity, and former players will want to look back at that, instead of questioning, "What happened to the SW Missouri State games? We did play them when I was on the team." Heck, I believe the women's basketball all-time scoring records is still credited as Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State, even if it is Missouri State now. Even when Don Haskins led Texas Western to the NCAA title, the NCAA still calls it Texas Western, even if the school is University of Texas-El Paso now.

[valpotx]

True run, but if you look at the other sports all-time results for Valpo (baseball for one), the records list both names in the same spot: SW Missouri State (now known as Missouri State).

I think that we are set to have a nice run in softball over the next few years, though not this year.  I believe that we will lose to UM, beat CMU, then lose to Cal.  I certainly hope for better, but this will be my prediction.   

With two solid FR pitchers, that is sometimes all you need in college softball to have a winning program.  You obviously need to be able to score runs as well, but pitching seems to be the main thing that matters.  I look forward to this tournament, as well as over the next few years!

[new2ff]

They will miss Joy, other than the year she sat out, she has been a key fixture in the Valpo lineup for a while. She had a fantastic Horizon Tourney.
Don't know if Marinic is going to stay for a 6th year or not, another fixture & a player who can play many positions. Was a very good SS when she first came to Valpo.
Brown has also had some very good games & 2-3 key HR's this year.

I'd say the key for the team & the pitchers is to step up the schedule a couple of notches. The Horizon league is not a very strong league & if Loyola leaves [ as someone said ] it will make it even weaker in that they usually had the highest RPI in the conference.

I wish them luck this w/e

[valpotx]

Loyola is definitely gone to the MVC in a few months, while Oakland is in.  In softball, we are exchanging a very solid LU program for a struggling Oakland program.  It helps us in our chances to make the NCAA each year, but it really doesn't hurt us, since we (HL) are usually a 4 seed in each NCAA regional anyways.

[valpopal]

I had an opportunity to take photos of the softball team as they prepared to leave for the NCAA Regional in Ann Arbor. They spent time relaxing, autographing bats and balls, and anticipating the opportunity ahead. They all seemed happy and confident, especially when they left the building and were greeted by some well wishers still on campus. Here are a few of my pictures. Good luck to the women!

[valpotx]

I am sure that they will represent us well!  Let's get our first NCAA (game) win since Bryce!