Spring softball smiles 

Pictured is Valmeyer catcher Payton Similey after homering in last Thursday’s 9-0 win over Lebanon. 

The action on high school softball diamonds has been busy of late, and some local teams are adding to their win total.

Valmeyer (10-1) won three games last week and resumed a tie game with New Athens Tuesday that had been postponed earlier this season in the 11th inning due to darkness. In 14 innings, the Pirates emerged with a 3-2 win.

Then the Pirates – this week’s Republic-Times Team of the Week – played a full game against New Athens on Tuesday, winning that one 7-1. Markee Voelker and Payton Similey collected three hits each.

On Thursday, Valmeyer won 9-8 over Sparta. Mia McSchooler went the distance in the pitching circle and went 2-for-3 at the plate. Voelker went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Similey went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Last Thursday, the Pirates won 9-0 over Lebanon. Similey homered and Voelker hit three doubles in the win. Mia McSchooler added two hits and four RBIs. Brooke Miller continued her fantastic spring, striking out 12 in the complete game shutout. 

For the season, Miller has four wins and 41 strikeouts in 21 innings in addition to hitting .609 with nine runs scored. Voelker is hitting .565 for the Pirates. 

Waterloo (10-5) won 5-3 over Civic Memorial on Wednesday. Mia Miller was the star, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and striking out 13 in a complete pitching effort.

Waterloo lost 13-6 to Highland on Monday, committing five errors in the process. Kate Lindhorst went 3-for-4 and Jada Voelker went 2-for-4 in the loss.

On Friday, the Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 game at home to Red Bud. Samantha Juelfs went 3-for-3 and Miller recorded 13 strikeouts with no walks and just two hits allowed for the Bulldogs, who committed four errors.

On Thursday, Waterloo won 15-0 at Gibault. Lilly Heck homered and Emma Day went 2-for-3 with four RBIs for the ‘Dogs.

Last Wednesday, Waterloo won 4-2 against Mascoutah. Miller struck out 16 with no walks and just three hits allowed. Juelfs and Lindhorst collected two hits each. 

Juelfs, a freshman, leads the team in hitting at .490 with 10 RBIs and 16 runs.  Aiden Dintelman, also a freshman, is hitting .381 with 12 runs.

Miller, a junior, is 6-4 with a 1.51 ERA and 132 strikeouts in just under 70 innings pitched.

Waterloo hosts Civic Memorial on Wednesday, plays Thursday at Chester and Saturday at Alton before hosting Jerseyville on Monday. 

Columbia (9-7) lost 1-0 to Red Bud (14-6) on Wednesday. Red Bud plated a run in the top of the seventh to break a scoreless tie. Julia Foster went the distance in the pitching circle for the Eagles.

Columbia won 18-5 over Wood River on Tuesday. Jaylyn Brister went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and Karsen Jany homered.

Columbia lost 9-8 to Belleville West on Monday. Jany and Harlie Rainbolt homered and Paige Froess went 3-for-4 for the Eagles.

On Saturday, Columbia won 16-1 over O’Fallon. Brister homered and Rainbolt went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

On Friday, Columbia won 16-1 over Granite City. Foster had three doubles and four RBIs. Reese Jarrard and Rainbolt also had three hits each. 

On Thursday, Columbia lost 8-3 at one-loss Freeburg. Foster and Emily Holmes collected two hits each for the Eagles.

Last Tuesday, the Eagles posted a 14-6 win over Roxana. Brister went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs and Rainbolt went 4-for-4 for Columbia. 

The Eagles host Waterloo on Friday.

Brister is hitting .500 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. Elle van Breusegen is hitting .469 with 23 runs and 10 stolen bases. Rainbolt is hitting .432 with 12 RBIs.

Gibault (3-7) lost 10-0 at Wesclin on Monday. Karina Jerkatis and Ashly Murphy had the only hits for the Hawks.

On Thursday, Iroda Makhamatjonovic and Emma Steibel had Gibault’s only hits in the loss to Waterloo. 

Last Wednesday, Gibault lost 12-2 to Valmeyer. Steibel went 3-for-3. She’s hitting .464 this season for Gibault, which hosts Althoff on Thursday and plays Monday at Lebanon. 

Dupo (4-7) won 11-6 over Steeleville on Thursday. Adrienne Latimer and Kyann Prater collected three hits each for the Tigers.

Last Wednesday, Dupo won 4-3 over Marissa. Prater and Maryann Imhoff collected two hits each in the win. 

Prater is hitting .462 with 10 runs this season. 

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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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