The battle for local high school baseball supremacy takes place this Saturday in Waterloo. 

The Monroe County Baseball Tournament begins at 10 a.m. with Columbia vs. Valmeyer at Waterloo High School and Gibault vs. Waterloo at SPPS Field.

The championship game will take place at Waterloo High School, with the third place game played at SPPS Field. 

Columbia has enjoyed the best season of the local squads thus far. The Eagles are 21-5 after winning three of four recent contests.

The Eagles posted an 11-5 win over Breese Central on Tuesday that clinched a third straight Cahokia Conference title.

Last Friday, Columbia lost 5-1 at Triad to end a nine-game winning streak. Ben Simmons went 2-for-3.

Last Thursday, the Eagles won 15-0 at Freeburg. Cash Bailey homered and drove in two runs, with Sully Bonaldi and Logan Bosch each having three hits and three RBIs. Brady Mathews struck out seven in six innings for the mound victory. 

Last Tuesday, Columbia won 2-0 over Roxana. Lucas Riebeling pitched a complete game, 13-strikeout no-hitter. Micah James went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases. 

Simmons leads the Eagles in hitting this spring at .449 with 16 RBIs and 16 runs, followed by Bailey at .329 with four homers and 20 RBIs.

Riebeling, a senior righty, is 6-1 with a 1.16 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 36 and one-third innings. At the plate, he’s hit five home runs with 18 RBIs.

Mathews, a senior lefty, is 6-2 with a 0.90 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 46 and two-thirds innings pitched. At the plate, he’s hit four homers with 13 RBIs.

Prior to the county tourney, Columbia hosts Mascoutah on Friday. On Monday, the Eagles battle Belleville West at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. 

Valmeyer (16-9) won four recent contests, including a 3-1 victory Thursday over Marissa that clinched the Kaskaskia Division of the Cahokia Conference. Jacob Brown went 2-for-3 with a run and Luke Blackwell struck out seven over four innings for the mound victory.

The Pirates picked up a 7-0 victory over Lebanon last Thursday, with Ripken Voelker pitching four innings for the win and driving in two runs. Blackwell, Jake Killy and Troy Neff had two hits each.

Last Wednesday, it was an 11-0 win over Lebanon for Valmeyer. Gavin Rau went five innings on the mound, and Chase Snyder was the hitting star with two hits and three RBIs. Blackwell and Evan Hill both had two hits each.

Last Tuesday, Valmeyer won 8-5 over Dupo. Neff went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, with Blackwell striking out 13 over six innings pitched.

The Pirates host Red Bud on Monday. 

Blackwell, a sophomore, leads Valmeyer in hitting at .392 with 29 RBIs and 27 runs. He’s also the pitching leader, going 7-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 39 and two-third innings. 

Snyder is hitting .389 with 28 RBIs. Landon Roy is hitting .360 with 34 runs and 23 stolen bases.

Waterloo (13-11) split some recent games.

The Bulldogs won 7-5 over Civic Memorial on Thursday. Koby Osterhage went 2-for-2 with a home run and two stolen bases. Nolan Veto went six innings for the mound victory.

On Tuesday, it was a 13-12 loss for Waterloo at Nashville. The ‘Dogs scored a run in the top of the seventh, but the Hornets walked it off in their final at-bat. Jack Roessler went 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.

On Monday, the Bulldogs won 12-1 at Civic Memorial. Roessler went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Nate Phillips had a hit and four RBIs in addition to going six innings for the pitching victory. 

On Saturday, Waterloo lost 5-4 to Carterville in 11 innings. Max Oswald went 4-for-6 for the ‘Dogs.

Last Thursday, it was a 3-0 loss to DuQuoin despite a complete game mound effort from Veto with just two earned runs allowed. Oswald went 2-for-3.

Last Wednesday, Waterloo won 10-1 over Jerseyville. Phillips pitched a complete game, striking out nine and allowing just three hits. Roessler went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Oswald and Osterhage added two hits each. 

Waterloo plays Friday at Granite City. Following the tourney on Saturday, the ‘Dogs are at Belleville East on Monday. 

Oswald leads Waterloo in hitting at .489 with 14 runs, followed by Osterhage at .404 with 18 runs and 13 stolen bases and Roessler at .392 with 24 RBIs and 19 runs.

Phillips is the pitching ace at 5-2 with a 1.55 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 49 and two-thirds innings. Veto is 4-2 with a 2.50 ERA.

Gibault (10-19) dropped three recent contests.

Last Thursday, the Hawks lost 3-2 at Nashville. The Hornets plated single runs in the sixth and seventh innings for the comeback victory. Jack Keeven and Peyton Schaefer collected two hits each for Gibault. 

Last Wednesday, it was a 9-2 loss to Mater Dei. Tyler Frierdich went 2-for-4 for the Hawks. 

Last Tuesday, Gibault lost 10-2 to Belleville East. Darrin Kunkelmann had a good game for the Hawks, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

Gibault plays Friday at Carlyle prior to Saturday’s tourney. Gibault plays Monday at Breese Central. 

Tyler Frierdich is the leading hitter for the Hawks at .367 with 23 stolen bases and 16 runs, followed by Schaefer at .343 with 13 runs and 12 RBIs.

Brady Biffar, a senior lefty, leads Gibault’s pitching staff at 5-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 64 strikeouts over 46 innings. 

In last Tuesday’s loss to Valmeyer, Teegan Hargrove had four RBIs for Dupo (3-13), and the Tigers got two hits and two RBIs each from Deegan Prater and Connor Ballard.

Last Wednesday, it was a 12-1 loss for Dupo against Gillespie at Grizzlies Ballpark in Sauget. Hargrove and Ashton Stein collected the team’s only two hits. 

Last Thursday, Dupo lost 3-1 to Steeleville. Hargrove doubled and scored, and also pitched six solid innings.

Dupo picked up a much-needed 3-2 victory Thursday over Lebanon. Ballard pitched six innings for the mound victory and also had an RBI double.

Hargrove, a junior, leads Dupo in hitting at .436 with 11 RBIs. 

Prater, a sophomore, leads the Tigers pitching staff with a 3.69 ERA.