Mon-Clair League baseball action is heating up, as all the teams played a full slate of games Saturday and Sunday.

The Waterloo Millers (12-2) continued their hot streak, taking all four weekend games to open up a lead in the Monroe Division over Valmeyer.

The Millers traveled to Whitey Herzog Field on Saturday to face the Belleville Rockies. Waterloo took game one, 10-1, then followed with a 4-0 shutout win in game two. Pitching continues to be very strong for the Millers.

Waterloo was at home Sunday at SPPS Field to host the Columbia Saints (2-10).

The Millers took game one, 5-1, behind strong pitching from Andy Galle, and won the second game 6-3.

Jake Frierderich (.464) continues to swing a hot bat for the Millers; L.J. Watson is also having a strong season at the plate (.400, 10 RBIs).

John Auble (3 wins, 1.33 ERA) and Ian Miller (2 wins, 0.58 ERA) lead a strong Millers pitching staff.

The Millers travel to Ste. Genevieve, Mo., for a Friday night doubleheader before taking on the Valmeyer Lakers at Borsch Park for two games Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m.

The Lakers (9-5) had a rough weekend, dropping three

of four to slip in the standings. The Lakers hosted the St. Louis Spikes (12-2) on Saturday, losing game one, 10-5. Valmeyer lost a very close game two, 2-0, as they just could not get the bats going.

The Lakers traveled to Whitey Herzog Field on Sunday to face the Rockies, winning the first game, 6-4. Drew Bicklein picked up the win for Valmeyer.

The Rockies jumped all over the Lakers early in game two to cruise to an 8-1 win.

“We actually played well this weekend. The defense was good and we hit the ball well,” Lakers head coach Dennis Pieper said. “Our pitchers walked way too many batters and that was the difference in the games.”

Dylan Skinner (.455) leads Valmeyer in hitting, while Mike Wuelling (3 wins) and D.J. Dillenberger (3 wins) lead the pitching staff.

Millstadt VFW (8-6) continue to climb back into the division race after a slow start to the season.

Millstadt traveled to Kleinschmidt Field on Saturday to face the Columbia Saints, losing game one by an 8-2 score.

After getting just three hits in the first game, Millstadt found their hitting shoes to rout the Saints in the second game, 13-3. Alex Kollack picked up the win on the mound for Millstadt.

On Sunday, Millstadt was at Bethalto Sports Complex to face the Edwardsville Mavericks.

The VFW took game one, 10-7, with Sam Lidisky picking up the win. Caleb Tatum picked up the save.

Tatum turned around after his save in game one and started game two for Millstadt, going the distance in a 14-2 win. Tony Kossina led the offensive barrage with a grand slam.

“It has been a long struggle to get over .500 this season, but hopefully we have turned the corner,” Millstadt head coach Norm Toenjes said. “The weaker teams are getting more competitive, which is making it harder to win games.”

Mitch Matecki (.368, 2 HR, 14 RBIs) and Kossina (.347, 13 RBIs) lead the Millstadt hitters. Lidisky (1.63 ERA) and Tatum (0.91 ERA) lead the pitching staff.

Millsadt hosts Belleville on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Columbia has played better than its 2-10 record indicates.

“We have been in almost all of the games,” Saints manager Doc Kleinschmdt said. “We are close, but that’s not good enough in baseball. We’ve got a younger team and I’m proud to say we have a lot of Columbia players on the team and many of our players are playing college baseball.”

Aaron Floarke leads the Saints hitters (.300), and Reid Greatting leads the pitching staff (2.33 ERA).

The Saints host the St. Louis Printers on Saturday before traveling to Sauget Field on Sunday to face the St. Louis Spikes.