CLEVELAND, Ohio - The No. 5 seed Green Bay (26-19, 11-12) softball team dropped its first game in the Horizon League Championship falling 4-0 to No. 4 seed Valparaiso (33-19, 13-9) Thursday morning.

Valparaiso scored three of its four runs off home runs in the first two innings of play to jump out to an early lead over the Phoenix.

With two outs in the bottom of the opening inning Valparaiso's Sadie Conner hit a two-run homer to left field giving the Crusaders the early 2-0 lead. Valparaiso led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run also hit to left field making it 3-0.

After three and a half scoreless innings Valparaiso hit an RBI double to right field scoring its final run after six innings of play.

Katie Cooney (East Moline, Ill.) took the loss on the mound (11-10) as she pitched her 12th complete game of the season striking out seven batters through six innings of work while allowing four runs off five hits.

Green Bay went one, two, three in the seventh inning as the Crusaders shut out the Phoenix for the third time this season. Green Bay will face either No. 4 seed Wright State or No. 6 seed Butler in the double elimination tournament Friday morning at 9 a.m.

---www.GreenBayPhoenix.com---