As the calendar flips from April to May, local high school baseball squads are counting on their players to kick it into another gear in hopes of being playoff ready.

Valmeyer (12-9) has been playing a lot of innings of late, going 2-4 in recent action. 

On Monday, the Pirates won 8-1 over Gibault. Chase Snyder went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs. Luke Blackwell struck out 12 and gave up just an unearned run for the mound victory.  

On Thursday, Valmeyer lost 7-6 to Steeleville. Troy Neff had two hits for the Pirates.

On Saturday, Valmeyer dropped a 12-1 contest at home to Waterloo. Blackwell had a double and RBI for the Pirates.

Last Friday, it was a 6-4 loss to Chester for Valmeyer. Landon Roy went 2-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases and two runs.

Last Thursday, Valmeyer lost 5-4 at Sparta. A four-run first inning wasn’t enough for the Pirates. Blackwell and Kye Holbrook had two hits each.

Last Tuesday, a big day for Blackwell gave the Pirates an 8-2 win at New Athens. Blackwell, a sophomore, went 4-for-4 with three runs and struck out nine over five innings for the mound victory.

Roy went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs for the Pirates, who host Mater Dei on Friday, play Monday at Father McGivney and host Dupo this coming Tuesday. 

Snyder leads the Valmeyer offense with a .424 batting average to go along with 24 RBIs.

Roy is hitting .403 with 31 runs and 22 stolen bases.

Blackwell is hitting .393 with 11 extra base hits and 27 RBIs. On the mound, the tall righty is 5-0 with a 1.18 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 29-plus innings pitched.

In Saturday’s victory at Valmeyer, Waterloo’s Patrick O’Donnell went 4-for-5 with three RBIs.

On Monday, however, Waterloo (10-9) lost 2-1 to Highland. AJ Sensel and Drake Luedeman had two hits each. 

On Thursday, it was a 5-4 loss at Althoff for the ‘Dogs.

Last Wednesday, Waterloo lost 11-6 to Triad. O’Donnell and Jack Roessler collected two RBIs each for the ‘Dogs, who host Jerseyville on Monday. 

O’Donnell is hitting .412 with 14 RBIs and 18 runs to pace the Bulldogs offense, followed by Luedeman at .368. 

Nate Phillips, a senior righty, is the leader of Waterloo’s pitching staff, going 3-1 with a 1.77 ERA  and 57 strikeouts in 31-plus innings.

Columbia (17-4) picked up a 14-3 blasting of Wood River last Tuesday. Brady Mathews went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs. Lucas Riebeling also homered and drove in four runs for the Eagles.

Columbia hosted Salem on Wednesday, winning 4-3.

On Thursday at Cahokia Conference rival Breese Central, Columbia won 4-0 behind a complete game three-hit shutout by Mathews, who struck out 12.

Columbia was to battle Belleville West at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday evening, but the game was canceled due to weather.

Ben Simmons leads Columbia in hitting at .421, followed by Micah James at .405. 

Mathews, a senior lefty, is 4-2 with a 1.25 ERA in 33 and two-thirds innings pitched. Fellow senior Riebeling, a righty, is 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA in 24 and one-third innings.

Gibault (9-16) won three of five recent games. 

In Monday’s loss to the Pirates, Tyler Frierdich collected two hits and stole three bases.

On Thursday, the Hawks came from behind to win 5-4 over Civic Memorial. Gibault trailed 4-0 but rallied late.

On Saturday, the Hawks won 2-1 against Teutopolis but lost 5-4 to Freeburg. 

In the win, no runs were scored after the third inning as Gibault’s Brady Biffar picked up the pitching win and Ty Frierdich went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

In the one-run loss, Peyton Schaefer went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and pitched five and two-thirds innings for the Hawks.

Last Wednesday, it was a 15-0 win for Gibault over Trico. Darrin Kunkelmann threw four shutout innings and had two hits with three RBIs. Biffar added a hit and three RBIs for the Hawks, who battle Alton at Grizzlies Ballpark on Monday. 

Tyler Frierdich leads the Gibault hitters at .373 with 19 stolen bases, followed by Schaefer at .333 with 10 runs.

Biffar, a senior lefty, leads the Gibault pitching staff at 4-2 with a 2.12 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 39 and two-thirds innings. 

Dupo (2-10) dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker to New Athens in nine innings on Monday. Connor Ballard, Teegan Hargrove, Deegan Prater and Carter McMannis each had two hits for the Tigers.

On Thursday, Dupo lost 2-1 to New Athens.

Last Wednesday, Dupo lost 10-2 to Steeleville. Hargrove went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Last Tuesday, it was a 12-1 defeat for Dupo at the hands of Marissa. Hargrove and Brady Portell had the only two hits for the Tigers, who play this coming Tuesday at Valmeyer. 

Hargrove, a junior, is hitting .448 with seven RBIs to lead the Tigers. 

The Dupo pitching staff is led by Prater, a sophomore lefty, with a 2.78 ERA.