Waterloo’s Tyson Roedl takes a swing during last Wednesday’s 3-2 win in extra innings over Valmeyer. (John Spytek photo)

With the fields finally dry for baseball last week, a few local teams added to their season win totals.

Last Wednesday, Valmeyer played at Waterloo in a cross-county showdown. In a well-played game by both sides, the Bulldogs scratched across a run in the eighth inning to down the Pirates, 3-2.

Ty Kueper and Danny Tharp collected three hits apiece for Waterloo, with Tharp also driving in two runs. Lucas Goodsell added two hits.

Tyler Kempfer went 2-for-4 with a double for Valmeyer. Cole Juelfs, Philip Reinhardt and Andrew Whipple also had two hits each.

Valmeyer bounced back from that loss to punish Marissa on Thursday, 11-1. Kempfer went 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Pirates. Reinhardt added two hits and two runs to go along with five strikeouts on the mound in four shutout innings.

On Friday, Valmeyer blasted Lebanon, 20-0. Reinhardt went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Drew Maus went 1-for-2 with four RBIs; Evan Thien went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Valmeyer and Waterloo each posted impressive wins Saturday on a sunny but bitterly cold day for baseball.

The Pirates swept a doubleheader at Althoff to improve to 10-2 on the season. Valmeyer won game one 9-5, as Kempfer continued his hot hitting by going 4-for-4 with two RBIs. 

“He must like the cold,” Valmeyer head coach Greg Reinhardt said of his senior catcher, who currently leads the team in hitting at .465.

Jake Krekel and Philip Reinhardt added two hits apiece. 

In game two, Kempfer came through again by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs in a 5-3 win. Juelfs, a senior righthander, threw six strong innings with five strikeouts for the mound victory.

Following closely behind Kempfer for the team lead in batting average is Reinhardt at .459 with nine RBIs. Juelfs is hitting .378 with 17 runs, and Whipple is hitting .364.

Reinhardt (2-1, 0.47 ERA), Juelfs (2-0, 2.06 ERA), Maus (2-0, 2.21 ERA) and Whipple (2-0, 2.44 ERA) lead the pitching staff.

Valmeyer plays at Dupo on Thursday before playing the St. Louis Patriots at GCS Ballpark in Sauget on Monday.

Waterloo batters were hot despite a strong freezing wind blowing into their faces at home Saturday against CBC. The Bulldogs went up 9-3 after four innings before holding on late for a 10-8 victory.

Kueper went 2-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Bulldogs. Quinten Albrecht and Josh Wittenauer added two hits apiece.

On Monday, the Bulldogs gave undefeated Mascoutah all it could handle in a Mississippi Valley Conference clash, falling 4-2. Waterloo cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth before surrendering a run in the seventh.

Goodsell went the distance on the mound, striking out four and allowing two earned runs. 

Albrecht went 1-for-3 with a double and RBI. Nolen Smith went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Tharp is hitting .600 with five doubles to lead the Bulldogs, followed by Kueper (.444, eight runs), Goodsell (.429, six runs) and Albrecht (.400, five RBIs).

Waterloo (4-2) hosted Gibault on Tuesday, will play at Highland on Wednesday, and plays a Saturday morning doubleheader at Pinckneyville.

Hawks grounded
Gibault battled CBC at Waterloo High School on Saturday afternoon, falling 7-3. Mason McFarland went 1-for-2 with two RBIs for the Hawks (2-7).

On Thursday, the Hawks dropped a 12-0 contest to Mascoutah. Cam Kincheloe and Tim Reinholz had the only hits for Gibault.

Last Wednesday, pitchers Mark Branz, Will Janson, Kincheloe and Ian Metcalf combined for 11 strikeouts and just one earned run allowed in a 7-1 defeat of Red Bud. Branz and Reinholz each had an RBI and two runs scored.

Kincheloe leads the team in hitting at .407.

The Hawks host Wesclin on Friday.

Eagles soaring
Columbia is scoring in bunches of late, putting up 45 runs in three recent wins. 

The Eagles pounded Carlyle last Wednesday, 17-8, with Dylan Hildebrand going 2-for-3 with five RBIs to lead the onslaught. Stephen Redinger and Shane Wilhelm added two hits each.

On Thursday, Columbia won 15-1 at Wesclin. Hildebrand had another big game, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Three-sport star Jordan Holmes went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, and AJ Mueller, Brennen van Breusegen and Wilhelm added two hits each.

Wilhelm struck out eight in five innings for the victory.

On Monday, the Eagles coasted to a 13-0 win at home over Red Bud. Wilhelm went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Kyle Steve and van Breusegen added two hits each. Alex Von Bokel threw five shutout innings for the win.

Wilhelm leads Columbia’s offense at .516 with five stolen bases and 11 runs. Hildebrand is hitting .500 with 13 RBIs.

Steve (.385), Daniels (.360), Redinger (.357) and Mueller (.353) are also hitting well for the Eagles. 

“Up and down the lineup we have guys taking quality at-bats, making it difficult on opposing pitchers,” Columbia head coach Neal O’Donnell said. “Dylan Hildebrand and Shane Wilhelm have set the tone for us at the top of the lineup.”

Luke Watson (2-1, 2.21 ERA, 15 strikeouts in 13 innings) leads the pitching staff.

Columbia hosts Breese Central on Thursday and will battle Belleville East and Mater Dei at Breese on Saturday.

Tigers struggling
Dupo is 1-7 to start the season, picking up its first win last Wednesday at home against Chester.

Jacob Snider went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Adam Bradshaw struck out seven over six and one-thirds innings for the victory.

Snider had two more hits in an 11-4 loss at Red Bud on Thursday.

On Friday, Dupo dropped a 9-7 contest in eight innings to Steeleville. Drew Kelling went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Tigers.

On Monday, the Tigers lost 6-0 at New Athens. The game was scoreless after five innings, as Bradshaw pitched well early.

Snider is hitting .538 to lead the Dupo offense, followed by Dalton Ticer at .300.

Dupo hosts Valmeyer on Thursday before traveling to Madison on Friday.