Softball squads begin title quests

Valmeyer’s Mia McSchooler delivers a pitch during last Tuesday’s win at Dupo. See more photos from that game at republictimes.smugmug.com.

Three of five local high school softball squads are part of the Class 1A Dupo Regional that got underway this week. 

Two other two local teams are prepping for regional play. 

On Monday, Gibault (8-10) opened postseason play with a 4-3 victory at Dupo (2-13) in eight innings. Emma Schmidt, Emma Steibel, Rylee Nagel and Ashley Murphy collected two hits each for the Hawks, who advanced to a Tuesday regional contest against Marissa at Dupo. 

Nagel picked up Monday’s pitching win. 

Steffany Stansch, who led the Tigers in hitting this season at .415 and had a 3.15 ERA as a pitcher, collected two hits for Dupo.

Gibault ended its season Tuesday with a 12-2 loss to Marissa.

Gibault concluded regular season play with an 11-2 victory over Father McGivney on Thursday. Steibel and Nagel each had three hits, Libby Mesch had two hits and four RBIs, and Schmidt had two hits and four runs. 

Schmidt is hitting .578 with a .672 on base percentage, five home runs, 21 RBIs, 25 runs and seven stolen bases to lead the Hawks. Mesch is hitting .400 and Steibel is hitting .396.

Valmeyer (9-6) opened Class 1A Dupo Regional play Tuesday against Odin, winning 6-2. The Pirates face Marissa in the regional final at 10 a.m. Saturday. Markee Voelker and Peyton Similey each went 3-for-4 in Tuesday’s win.

Valmeyer, which won the program’s first regional title last year, closed out regular season play with a 6-2 loss to Marissa on Thursday. The Pirates were held to just three hits on the day.

Last Wednesday, Valmeyer won 8-3 at home over Dupo. Voelker went 3-for-4 with a triple and Brooke Miller homered.

Last Tuesday, Valmeyer won 9-5 at Dupo. The Pirates plated four runs each in the sixth and seventh innings to emerge victorious. Miller went 3-for-4 with a homer and Kylie Eschmann went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Valmeyer.

Miller is hitting .457 with seven homers and 19 runs for the Pirates in addition to a 2.36 ERA in the pitching circle. Voelker is hitting .429 with six stolen bases and Eschmann is at .422 with 16 RBIs.

Columbia (15-10) competed in the Class 2A Marquette Regional, taking on the host squad Tuesday in Alton. The Eagles lost 12-2 to end their season.

Last Tuesday, Columbia closed out its regular season schedule with a 3-2 win at Breese Central. The Eagles scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning. 

Sam Augustine went 3-for-3 and pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts. Elle van Breusegen added two hits, two RBIs and three stolen bases. 

Karsen Jany leads Columbia on offense with a .452 average, five homers, 29 RBIs and 28 runs. Jaylyn Brister is at .434 with four home runs, 18 RBIs and 23 runs. Kaitlyn Bearley is hitting .397 with 21 RBIs and 25 runs. 

Augustine is 7-3 with a 1.76 ERA.

Waterloo (15-10) split four recent games as its regular season concludes this week.

On Monday, the Bulldogs lost 12-5 to Civic Memorial. Emma Day went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jada Voelker and Maddie Davis added two hits each. 

On Friday, Waterloo lost 16-6 to Trico. Voelker went 3-for-3 and Lilly Heck went 2-for-4.

Last Wednesday, the ‘Dogs posted a 6-0 win over Jerseyville. Mia Miller pitched a complete game two-hitter and Waterloo got two hits each from Davis, Voelker and Maddie Gummersheimer.

Last Tuesday, Waterloo won 11-5 over Waltonville. A six-run seventh inning broke a 5-5 tie. Voelker had two hits and four RBIs, with Heck, Miller and Reese Downing each contributing two hits and two RBIs.

Waterloo hosts Granite City on Wednesday before playing Friday at Edwardsville in the regular season finale. 

The Bulldogs begin Class 3A Highland Regional play Tuesday against Mascoutah. With a win, Waterloo would play for a regional title on May 27.

Davis leads the ‘Dogs in hitting at .450 with a .527 on base percentage, four home runs, 18 RBIs, 27 runs and eight stolen bases.

Voelker is hitting .431 with 18 RBIs. Miller is hitting .388 and is 11-6 with a 2.22 ERA.

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Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
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