It’s win or go home the rest of the season in high school softball, with a couple of teams already securing some postseason hardware. 

In Class 2A, Columbia (24-5) got an 11-strikeout no-hitter from Emily Webb in a 4-0 victory Friday over Piasa Southwestern to capture a regional title at home. 

The Eagles opened regional play by avoiding a monumental upset last Tuesday against Breese Central. Trailing 3-1 in their final at-bat, the Eagles clawed back for a 4-3 win. Paige Froess smacked a two-RBI single for the walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Columbia advanced to the Vandalia Sectional, where it took on Robinson on Tuesday for a berth in Friday’s final. The result was a 3-1 win for the Eagles.

Friday’s winner advances to Monday’s supersectional at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Webb ranks among the top pitchers in the entire St. Louis area with a 14-1 record, an ERA around 0.60, and nearly 150 strikeouts.

Leading Columbia’s offense is Elle van Breusegen at .477 (.549 on base percentage) with 37 runs, followed by Froess at .388 with 21 RBIs. In the pitching circle, Froess is 5-3 with a 2.08 ERA.

In Class 1A, Dupo (13-10) won a regional title with a pair of one-run victories in Centralia. 

On Thursday, the Tigers emerged victorious, 4-3, in eight innings over Father McGivney in a game that was continued from the day before due to rain. Kaylyn Woods went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Addison Thompson pitched a complete game. 

On Friday, Dupo pulled out a 2-1 win over the regional host, Christ Our Rock Lutheran. The Tigers scored twice in the first inning and Thompson made that lead hold up thanks to solid defense. Woods and Kylie Kloess had the RBIs for Dupo. 

Dupo advanced to the Hardin-Calhoun Sectional and faced Calhoun on Tuesday for a berth in Thursday’s sectional final. The result was a 6-0 loss for the Tigers.

Dupo’s offense was led this season by Kylie Pierce (.424), Woods (.420, 23 runs, 19 RBIs) and Kloess (.420, 23 runs, 22 RBIs). 

Thompson had a stellar freshman season in the pitching circle with a 1.58 ERA.

Also in Class 1A, Gibault (9-14) bowed out of the postseason with a 10-0 loss at Marissa last Wednesday. Hope Chambers, Kylie Edwin and Kennedy Cooper collected the only hits for the Hawks. 

Gibault was led on offense this season by Lauren Lanham at .429 (.524 on base percentage), 13 stolen bases and 33 runs, followed by Karina Jerkatis at .400 with 20 runs, and Chambers at .397 with 18 RBIs.

Chloe Lancaster had a 2.39 ERA in the pitching circle. 

In Class 3A, Waterloo (21-4) opened regional play Tuesday with an easy win over Cahokia in Mascoutah 17-0. The Bulldogs will face either Civic Memorial or Mascoutah in the regional final on Friday for a berth in the Triad Sectional that starts Tuesday. 

Waterloo closed out its regular season with a trio of wins. Last Tuesday, Mallory Thompson’s walk-off three-run homer gave the Bulldogs a 7-5 win in eight innings over Triad. 

Last Wednesday, it was an 18-3 victory over Granite City. Isabella Riesing went 3-for-3 with a homer, Ava Brown went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Riley McDermott went 3-for-4, and Samantha Juelfs went 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs completed a 10-0 Mississippi Valley Conference schedule with a 15-1 win over Mascoutah. Juelfs went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, with Megan Armbrecht also homering and driving in four runs. 

Julefs is hitting .412 (.529 on base percentage) with six home runs, 37 RBIs and 29 runs this season. 

In addition to her 18-2 pitching mark and 1.68 ERA, Aiden Dintelman is hitting .440 (.512 on base percentage) with six homers and 27 RBIs.