DES MOINES, Iowa – It was another story of fighting to the finish Friday but this time the breaks didn’t fall the Sycamores way. All five runs in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal game between Indiana State and Valparaiso were scored with two outs but, unlike Thursday’s opening round action, the Sycamores fell, 3-2.
 
Becky Malchow led Indiana State (26-28) tied a career-high for hits with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, scoring both runs for the Sycamores. She was nearly 3-for-3 in scoring but was stranded at third in the fifth inning.
 
After Malchow scored on a Bella Peterson sacrifice fly in the third, Valparaiso (27-23) fought back in the fifth with a three-run frame that got started with Carly Trepanier’s two-out solo home run. Trepanier, who led Valp with a 2-for-3 hitting performance, hit a line drive towards left with the wind blowing that way that barely cleared the fence.
 
The Crusaders put the next two batters on before Jenna Stauffenberg hit a two-run single, pushing Valparaiso into a lead that they would not relinquish.
 
Malchow led off the seventh with a single up the middle and a sacrifice bunt followed by a ground out pushed her over to third. Mallory Marsicek drove in Malchow with a single before Peterson’s fielder’s choice ended the game.
 
Kylie Stober (7-11) was charged with the loss in her final collegiate appearance, allowing three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. She did not issue a walk, hit one batter and fanned three.
 
Kelsie Packard (8-5) was credited with the win after allowing two runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out six. Kenzie Grossman (1) was credited with the save as she entered in the seventh and recorded the final out.
 
The loss ends the 2018 season for Indiana State, the first under head coach Michael Perniciaro. The Sycamores registered their best conference finish (fifth) since 1991 after being projected to finish last in the league.