Three local high school baseball teams still playing in the postseason last week  were unable to turn the calendar over to June.

Waterloo (25-11) opened Class 3A Mascoutah Regional play Friday after its game against Freeburg was postponed Thursday due to weather. The end result was a 10-5 win for the Bulldogs.

Chaten Kirchner hit an RBI triple in the second inning, which was followed by an RBI infield single by Max Oswald. Waterloo led 4-0 after two.

Caleb Papenberg had two hits for the Bulldogs, who got a mound victory from AJ Sensel. 

The Bulldogs had to face the host squad in the regional final the very next day, falling 7-1 to Mascoutah. 

Waterloo faced Arizona State commit Austin Musso, who turned in a dominant pitching performance for Mascoutah. Josh Amann smacked a three-run homer for the Indians.

With the loss, longtime Waterloo head coach Mark Vogel ended his career with the Bulldogs. He had served as head coach since 1993.

In addition to five wins and 50-plus innings pitched by Sensel this season, other outgoing seniors for Waterloo include top hitter Patrick O’Donnell (.407, eight home runs, 32 RBIs, 35 runs, 18 stolen bases), Kirchner (.375, eight doubles) and Oswald (.322, 25 runs).

Still, the future looks bright for incoming Waterloo head coach Garrett Schlecht next season. Key returners in 2026 will include juniors Conrad Lindhorst (.329, 26 RBIs, 2.68 ERA) and Rowan Schilling (.328, 13 runs), sophomore Trey Conrod (.356, 14 RBIs) and freshman pitcher Carter Jones (4-0, 2.36 ERA).

Columbia (17-14) ended its season last Wednesday at the Class 2A Teutopolis Sectional, falling 7-3 to Effingham St. Anthony. 

Leading the way on offense in this contest were Cash Bailey, Brady Hemminghaus and Brody Landgraf with two hits each. 

Among the outgoing seniors for an Eagles squad that won a regional title this season include leading hitter Cash Bailey (.402, six home runs, 23 RBIs, 20 runs), Micah James (.387, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 26 runs) and Logan Bosch (.342) in addition to pitcher Sam Donald (3.07 ERA in 43-plus innings).

In addition to Landgraf, who is a Creighton University commit, key returners for Columbia next season include sophomore Will Kleinschmidt (.400, 20 RBIs, 22 runs) and freshman pitcher Connor Basinski (4-1, 1.71 ERA).

Gibault (11-19) ended its season last Wednesday at the Class 1A Greenville University Sectional, falling 5-1 to Hardin-Calhoun.

The Hawks were held five hits, with doubles by Nolan Snell and Dylan Schaefer. Peyton Schaefer pitched a complete game in the loss.

The Hawks, winners of three straight regional titles, say goodbye to seniors Peyton Schaefer (3.55 ERA in nearly 50 innings pitched) and Michael Wessel (.305, 19 runs), among others. 

There are some key players Gibault and longtime head coach Andy Skaer will utilize as building blocks for the seasons ahead, however.

Snell, a sophomore, led the Hawks in hitting this spring at .306 with 18 RBIs.

Carson Timmons, also a sophomore, went 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in just under 48 innings pitched.

Another young arm for Gibault is freshman southpaw Dante Gianino, who went 3-2 in nearly 26 innings.